Hand of Ice: Primordeal Saga
by General Wyvern
Summary: BOOK TWO in 'Hand of Ice'. What will be waiting in Esthar? What is an Echo Host? What is a Wayward...?
1. Forearm Virtical

1

Greek Fire

_Don't look back,  
The time has come,  
All the pain has turned to love.  
Were not submissive, we're not aggressive,  
But they think that we can't defend!  
Stand up, join us;  
Modern Crusaders alive.  
We have the power to face the futere,  
'Cause we are the fighters  
Just fighting for our rights._

"Modern Crusaders" by _Enigma_

The doors to the recovery ward flung open, and through them came a visitor marching to where Dr. Karrion was conversing with one of the nurses.

He saw who had come in. "Well, good day sir. May I ask what brings you…" His visitor decked him in the eye before he could finish. The blow sent him sprawling backwards into a bed.

"You moron!" Nida shouted at him in New Galbadian. "You called in for SeeD?" His soft Alcauldian accent was still noticeable.

"Well…yes." Dr. Karrion explained as he got up off the floor, rubbing the swelling that was growing under his eye. "I had to show dat I did everyting I could." He stumbled with his footing. "Don't worry, we sent a team out to finish them."

Nida gave the doctor a cocky glance, one that got the nurse present to back off a few steps. "Sorry to say this Dr, Karrion. But your 'team' got flushed by THREE SEEDS." He held up three fingers in front of him. "One girl, one guy, and one highly dangerous MENTAL PATIENT!"

"Wah…? I'm sorry sir, we had no idea dat…we blinded Squall...we can get a better party after dem, right away!"

"No need." Nida dismissed his statement with a wave of his hand. "I've changed my mind. Tell your kronies they can kill anybody who gets in their way, but I want Squall alive!"

"Alive?" The doctor started with disbelief, still covering his eye. "Does your Moter know about dis?"

"Oh please." Was the SeeD's cocky response. "After I'm through with all this, that sewer rat will be congratulating me."

Dr. Karrion began to tremble, he knew what Nida's Mother was capable of, especially if angered. "By alive, does dat mean, in mint condition?"

Nida thought about that for a second. "Either or. But I'd prefer if he weren't. It's not like I made SeeD by sharpening my pike on human bones."

§

From the horizon behind came more shadows with huge jet packs on their backs. A small army had come after them.

_And we're sitting ducks!_ Rinoa thought with heightened worry.

Still staring out towards the oncoming, Squall was surprised when Rinoa yanked him by the shoulder, pulling into the car. She led him to a large bit of crates and cargo it held, shoving him behind them.

"Stay here, and don't come out." She ordered Squall.

What? "I can fight Rinoa!" He protested.

"Not in your condition. Stay here, and I'll call you if we need that Guardian Force of yours."

He was appalled by her remark. "What?! I can do more then call a GF!"

Rinoa started to run back to the crowded car, only turning around to assure herself that Squall would stay put. "No Squall, you would not stand up in mêlée." Funny she would say that to a tried and true warrior. She wasn't even sure she could stand up in mêlée! At least, she knew she could stand up. Squall was about to head on after her, fallowing the sounds of her hurried footsteps until he heard a thump on the roof above him. He crouched down behind the boxes and whatnot, listening intently as the thumps gathered more footfalls.

As fast as she could, Rinoa entered the car where the rest where, still crowded around each other. Sly was barely able to fit. It was hard to get a word in with all the talking. Eventually, Rinoa shouted out that the Galbadians were tailing them. Absolute panic swept out.

Seifer, whom had hid by one of the corners, unsheathed Perish, heading to the door that led out of the car.

Rinoa stopped him. "What do you think you're doing Seifer?" She spoke in Alcauldian.

"Oh, what does it look like!" He scowled back. "I'm going to test this new blade out on the field! FUJIN! RAIJIN!" He called to his lackeys. Obediently, they came, pushing through the crowd. Raijin held up his staff, and Fujin, her pinwheel. Rinoa saw no need to keep them back. The three left the car.

With Seifer climbing the ladder of the car first, he was met with a horrid surprise when a dagger zinged past his cheek, burying itself in the roof in front. Looking behind him quickly, Seifer saw that there were already three people closing the distance.

He hauled himself up, brandishing Perish. "_Müra skrati ðnava? Üressi nir!_" You wanna fight? Come get me!

One of the attackers, wearing only street clothes, jumped over to his car, brandishing his own short staff. The attacker swung it at Seifer, nearly knocking him off the train. The two others fallowed, bringing their weapons out. All Seifer could do at the moment was block them with Perish. A tricky thing, since Perish was still very heavy in his hands. Raijin and Fujin fallowed quickly, evening out the score, but more of the assailants were dropping from they sky. One look up, and Seifer could see they were using Galbadian turbine jet packs, with the attackers being dropped by Galbadian soldiers!

The huge numbers of attackers were thickening rapidly. It was surprising that so many could stand on the moving train without shoving someone off. Seifer and his posse were nearly pushed off the edge themselves by the wave of weapons and numbers before them.

From below them, Quistis, Selphie, and Zell stepped out, amazed at how the rooftops looked to be crowded with people.

Selphie lifted up her hand, as if reaching for something. "_Malthun!_" Aero A small twister of wind congregated by those that had swamped the top of the ladder. The small spell of wind was not lethal enough to kill them, but it blew the balance of those it hit, toppling them. Those that were nearest to the edge fell right off. Quistis looked down in shock as she saw one of the attackers hit the tracks. The train jumped violently as it ran over his body. Several others were thrown off, some of which caught the end of the roof. Raijin was one of those few fortunate people, but shivered as he heard the screams of those who weren't so lucky.

From further down in the front of the train: the passenger cars, several people heard the commotion, but thought it only birds. As for the bump, it did not pass their minds too much, probably just another small rock on the tracks.

The three SeeDs plunged into the fight. Many of the attackers didn't see them until they had gotten completely on the roof.

Inside the car, all the noise from them died down as the fight continued. Angelo growled softly by Rinoa's heels, but managed to compose herself. Irvine aimed his gun at the roof. He fired, the live bullet going right through the roof.

The bullet nearly hit Quistis in the foot. "_Vjassirêl, Irvine!_" Irvine, watch it!

Not hearing her over the din, he fired again. This time, the bullet hit one of the attackers in the leg. In pain, she stumbled, not being able to see Fujin before she cut her head off. The body was eventually tossed over by the mêlée. Irvine fired several more times. Two of them hit attackers, but, it was not long before one of the attackers took out his own handgun and fired into the car. The bullets hit two Forest Owls, and Deacon. One of the Forest Owls, Brine, fell dead, for he had been shot right in the middle of his bald head.

It would have not taken that shot to realize that it was no longer safe standing around waiting to be shot themselves. Everyone, excluding Sly, fanned out into the next car ahead of them. Irvine had to brace himself to a wall in order not to get swept away in the tide of Forest Owls.

The last of the assailants seemed to have dropped, but circumstances upon the train were getting rather harsh. Seifer, although he managed to swing the cumbersome Perish, had been slashed in several places; his blood was making the train roof slick. It was Selphie whom healed his wounds quickly with magic, before he was assaulted again. Fujin stopped fighting only to help her brother up.

An attacker found no obstacle approaching her back, stabbing her in the shoulder. She screamed with the sudden agony, heard by the company, heard by those below, but disregarded by passengers as more birds. Jumping to her aid came Quistis, flailing her whip at the attacker. The hit was successful, and the attacker was pushed into the mêlée again. Aiding Fujin, they both managed to pull Raijin's heavy body up. Quistis wanted to check the stab wound on the other woman, but knew that then was not the time.

None of them, not even their own team, saw a couple of the assailants sneaking away to the back of the train.

Still huddled behind the cargo, Squall nearly flinched when he heard the fighting start, heard the shots, felt the bump from the fallen body. Some of the items from their cargo jumped loose.

_"Squall! The bottles are breaking!"_ Squeeked Strychnine. She sounded rather panicked that the contents may be poisonous.

_Depends on what's in the bottles._ Squall assured.

_"They're a funny script, but I know them!"_

_You can read?_

The contents were written on them in Dollet script, and Strychnine read them off: Neatiquéla: quicklime. About to reach out to locate that bottle, Squall was stopped by a pair of loud thuds at the very back of the train. He hid his head in reaction as two of the assailants entered the car. Both of them were armed.

"_Inwa'ooqall machatahuk ikoo?_" See anything? One of them asked the other.

"_Éooiqwí, banach ía qwinpannut._" Relax, they'll be here. Replied the other.

"_Nhuké toosakumin iqappínm ía qwichannu! Hanaq qilla ukulkwé achwaa!_" Those damn Owls better be here! I'm not going way empty handed!

The more temperamental of the duo flailed his hand around the car. "_Nyqalloo!_" Search this place! The two began to shuffle around the cargo. Squall held his breath the best he could.

"_Take them out Appalling Pace!"_ Cloak demanded. "_This is just annoying!"_

_Oh, damn!_ He scowled at the voice. _Not now! Leave me your forwarding address and I'll get back to you!_

"_Get Strychnine! Liquefy the bastards!"_ Squall found it hard not to agree with the logic.

Irvine had clamoured onto the train's roof several cars away from the fight. He took aim with a much better view, taking out two of the attackers, only to have four of them zero in on him.

Rushing towards him, they had their daggers and hatches raised. Irvine attempted at shooting one of them, but the rest advance regardless, confident that the sniper would falter at close rang. They would not be far off on that assumption. Irvine held still as they neared, not moving at all, just sitting…. and pacing himself. Closer to him, the assailents could have sworn they saw something flash in his eyes like a swinging lantern.

One of the attackers jumped as soon as a small, dark hole materialized in front of him, too dark to be a hole in the roof, and to regular to be a natural imperfection. The remaining three received a nasty surprise when a little bald green thing popped out of that hole, a scalpel in one hand and a lantern in the other; a dirty brown woollen robe covered its body. The little creature's eyes were glowing a steady and haunting yellow. The three attackers scrambled away from the tiny thing in fright, but the little creature proved to be faster then what they thought, landing on the back of one of the attackers and stabbing him in the back. Not having any other reason to be around, Toneberry disappeared back into its hole.

Several of the Forest Owls, including Rinoa, had refused to stay below, just waiting for another bullet shower. Red Hawk nearly fell off the moving train when he recognized the attackers.

"Forest Bears!"

"Forest Bears?" Irvine started. "Who're the Forest…"

"Questions come later!" Snapped Rinoa, running off with Angelo, Red Hawk, Brix, Mordechai, Spytz, and two others by the name of Grouter and Markus, behind her.

The two Forest Bears that had witnessed Toneberry, returned to the fight with fanatic cries. Many of the group stopped. Zell took full advantage of this. Decking a few of the Bears to their deaths. He was stained with his blood and the blood of others, reeking of death and sweat. So far, they were putting up a good fight for being so desperately outnumbered. Zell took a shot at a larger of the Bears in front of him, only to have his fist stopped by his gigantic hand. Looking up, he gasped in awe and shock as the face of the giant mercenary glared down at him, the same one from the Domane house thought to be dead. Through all this, the grassy forest plains bellow the tracks gave way to beach, and gave way to ocean.

With a sadistic smile on him, the mercenary grabbed Zell by the neck, lifting him upwards as before. That time, he did not boast by giving a simple one liner, but threw Zell across the tops of the cars, landing only a couple of feet away from a startled Irvine, and hitting an even more startled Rinoa.

Still inside the car, the two of the Forest Bears continued to rummage as Squall listened in on them from behind a smaller crate, his limbs feeling soft and spongy as he tried his best to keep them firmly in place. One of the Bears, some guy with smokey red hair and a left arm that was completely missing, started to move towards him, a dagger at his side. Squall shivered on his position, the miniscule cramp in his stomach that had been twirling around started to recede, but that still left him with very few open options, and even less debate as Cloak was continuing to criticize his lack of action.

The Bear pushed the crate aside, spilling out its contents of naptha, a substance that was used to waterproof canvas. Since he had no sense of smell, Squall was not hindered by the reek, as for the two Forest Bears…

"Hey, Virn!" Shouted the one armed stranger to the other Forest Bear, his smile nearly blinding as he looked down at a very sickly looking human being. "Look what I found."

The one named Virn came over at the mention of his name. "Not our problem. Looks like it'll keel over soon anyway."

_It?!_ Screeched Squall inwardly. Was he that bad that it was hard to discern his gender? Or were they just that ignorant? _Stupid jackasses! I'm goddamn male! How'd you like to be 'its' just as soon as I rip your nads off?!_

"_Atta boy! Two eyes and an ear for an eye!"_ Cheered Cloak. As if agreeing with her, Squall began to snarl like a mad badger.

_"Behind you!"_ Snapped Strychnine. _"They are standing right behind your back!"_ Squall turned around with close directions form his GF, looking directly up at the enemy. Hazy, dead eyes rendering their spines a'shivering.

The two Forest Bears backed off a few steps. "Damn! This persons must be rabid!" The one armed Bear assumed.

"We should kill it and throw it in the water before someone is infected." Agreed Virn, obviously more concerned then his partner.

One-arm came in fast, straddling Squall's hips with is hands. While attempting to struggle vainly, Virn held out his hatchet, aiming to smash his head. As the dinted and rusted old blade of the small axe came down, Squall's hands came up, grabbing Virn's arm. The intense grip surprised the Bear greatly as the spindly white fingers locked around bone with all the power of eagle's talons. Faster then One-arm could catch up, Squall threw Virn against the opposite wall, busting crates and splintering the side of the train, a little more force, and he could have thrown the Forest Bear clear through the car.

Snapping his back into an arch, he grabbed One-arm by the neck, forcing him to let go of his waist. Swinging him over his head, he slammed One-arm against the floor, breaking several crates and their contents. Weird coloured fluids that probably reeked something fierce flooded all around One-arm, even solids spilled out, mixing with the liquids.

Gaining a little composure, Virn leapt forward with his hatchet at defence. Squall disarmed him merely by slapping the small axe out of his hand. Surprised at the lack of his weapon, he looked down into his empty hands only to have Squall deliver a nasty left hook to his chin. While still stumbling backwards, he was rammed into the floor. Both Strychnine and Cloak were giving directions to where he could snatch his hatchet, and he found it. Virn didn't stand a chance as the SeeD started hacking away at his neck.

Seven hacks, and Virn's head was only holding onto his body by several sinews of muscle. Beside him, One-arm was still unconscious, and was most likely dead. Just to make sure, Squall swiped the dagger that was held fast in the only hand of the Forest Bear, and dircted by Cloak, buried the blade into his forehead.

_If you're not dead,_ Sneered Squall, _then you're too stupid to realize it._

Puddling around his bare feet were the fluids and powders of quicklime and nappha, and some, not-so flammable. Passenger cargo was most likely in smaller compartments under the passenger cars, so the cargo that had just been smashed were industrial or commercial goods. They came with labels of all sorts of symbols and languages, but most of them; Strychnine could read. All of the ones recognizable to her, she deciphered to him.

The car held an emergency fire hydrant by the door. Squall, feeling around with his hands, took the heavy red object off its stand and proceeded to empty it. Foam soon covered the entire floor, along with the chemicals. Once empty, Strychnine lead him to the unbroken bottles and untarnished bags of the chemicals and powders she recognized, and mixed them into the empty fire hydrant.

Rinoa pushed Zell off of her unceremoniously, concerned for the lesser experienced Forest Owls who had gotten in the fight. She used whatever healing spell she could concoct on short notice on her visible team. Unlike everyone else, she did not have to recite the spell's names, they obeyed the very whim of the Sorceress.

A couple of Forest Bears threw more daggers. Though easily dodged, they were met with two Bears. One was a blond woman with a mace, and the third was a dark brunette girl, only around fourteen or some, who had a large hook. The mace woman came up right in front of Rinoa, raising her weapon above her. It was an easy block for the sorceress to make, but had froze under the pressure. The mace was spiked with hideous looking stakes that looked like they could rip out part of her brain. In short, it looked painful. It was all in her to scream and cover her head, just like she would have. But no, she had seen a lot of gore in the past…she had lost count for the longest time. But she was a sorceress, she didn't have to hide, didn't have to scream, didn't have to run away. She could do it.

Looking up at the mace for a quick glance told her otherwise. Oh, how she hated blood, especially if it was her own.

_Damn! Even dogs don't cower like this!_ She told herself in distaste.

The blonde brought her mace down. In reaction, Rinoa shouted in high earnest. "Down girl!" Her palm was flung before her, as if the opposer would back down. Oddly, she did, her mace slipping from her fingers that arched in arthritic fashion. Her head snapped back as she let out a yelp, her tongue flickered out of her mouth, her teeth barred in a snarl, even as she folded her rabidly thinning arms against her cracking ribs. Rinoa was caught in a gasp as she stared at the girl shrinking before her. Her teeth started to elongate, grow sharp, her ears grew much bigger, her eyes started to become large and beady, and her hair started to fall out. A cloud of green magic appeared around the shrinking victim, lifting to reveal a Chihuahua dog yipping at her, human clothes still hung over the small dog's back.

_I didn't know I could do that!_

The dog leapt at her, but was tackled by an ever-vigilant Angelo. The small Chihuahua was no match for the larger, and she was forced to flee, her hairless tail dangled between her legs as Angelo held her head up high. Irvine saw what Rinoa had done, and was both in awe and terror. She had just turned a human being into a dog! For a split second, he had let his guard down, and the other girl dug the end of her hook into his left shoulder.

Oblivious to what happened, Irvine screamed as the rusted metal impaled muscle and bone. He flailed his hands about. The younger girl let go of the hook, staring proudly at it, still stuck in the shoulder of the enemy. Her victory was very short lived, as her head was smashed into the car roof with a very heavy fire hydrant, a heavy spray of blood and bone showed all around, soaking train, hydrant, and Squall. He lifted the fire hydrant up; staring blindly forward at the mêlée two cars down with a cold glare that could inflict worse damage then just turning someone into a dog. Rinoa had to admit, she was sure glad that he wasn't staring at her like that, even if she knew he wouldn't be able to see her. What a lucky shot that was to hit his target on first try. Or was it luck at all? All the while, Zell had gotten to Irvine's side, pulling out the lodged hook. Irvine cried out again as he felt the hook separate from his torn shoulder.

"Hey man." Started Zell with concern, throwing the hook away. "I can heal the flesh wound, but I don't know about that bone…"

"It's fine." Irvine wheezed, putting a hand on his aching limb. "As long as this thing doesn't get infected."

Rinoa moved away a little as Squall stepped forward, stern and regal, not even a hand was held out to feel for obstacles. The fire hydrant, he held out in front of him. Not a single one of the fighter's were aware of his intentions, nor his presence. Rinoa was about to let Squall go ahead with whatever he had in mind, until she remembered who else was in the brawl.

"Squall! Wait…!" She held her hand out as to grab him and pull him back, but it was of no avail. Squall shot his chemical concoction out in the form of Greek fire. The fire sprayed forth as it were merely just of water, hitting anyone who was unlucky enough to be closest to him. Most of those on fire leapt off the train and into the sea. Many of the Bears flung themselves over the rail of the roof and into the car below to escape the spray of Greek fire.

_"They're gone now,"_ Strychnine began to him, _"but stay where you are. The fire is chemical, and it's leaping!"_

The spray started to drip through the bullet holes in the roof. Sly warked and flapped franticly about before he got the best idea to head where the rest of the Forest Owls were. Behind him, the floor started to ignite.

Before Squall was laid a carpet of greasy chemicals and leaping flames, completely separating him from the others.

_"The freaks are running scared."_ Cackled Cloak. _"See. Who needs eyes."_ Her insane laughter was contagious, and Squall unknowingly joined her.

Though it seamed they were outmatched by sheer power, the Forest Bears remaining on the top of the train did not back off, but stared directly at Squall and vice versa. But none with more determination then the huge mercenary. He laughed at the fire before him, stepping forth to challenge it. The flames, though violent, did not hurt him.

_"Someones coming."_ Strychnine warned. _"The fire isn't hurting him."_

Squall was scared for a second, but only for a second, before hitting him with another splash of Greek fire. The chemicals soaked him, holding their fire fast to him, but he was not flailing in the least. Rinoa, Zell, and a crouching Irvine shuddered as they saw a man cloaked in violent fire walk towards them, even Angelo whimpered, hiding behind her owner. Squall stood firm, emptying the contents of the fire hydrant. He threw the empty canister away, unknowingly hitting the man in the face. That mercenary was knocked onto his back by the blow. For a second, he was hidden by the fire, but slowly climbed to his feet. Faithfully, Zell leapt to Squall's side, ready to fight the living fire ball if need be.

He did not come any closer then the middle of the flames.

Strychnine warned her Father of this. _"He's in the center of the fire. Just standing there. No, wait..."_

Holding his hands up high, the flames engulfing his body leapt upwards to form a geyser of fire. The thin bottle neck of flame danced and flickered about as it swelled in two places, coming together to explode in a shower of sparks, revealing a slight feminine figure.

The figure boasted a body much like the slim and saucy ice maiden Shiva. But her hair leaped upwards from her head. Her hands and feet were covered in glowing brimstone, her skin was charred red, and her eyes were a deep maroon. The woman was not doubt a Guardian Force.

Strychnine screached as she appeared. _"Harboured Will!"_

_"Damn Harboured Will!"_ Cursed Cloak.

_No wonder the fire didn't hurt him._ Thought Squall, seemingly knowing what a 'Harboured Will' was. _He probably hiked his stamina with enough fire magic to make himself immune to he heat, or absorb it!_

The mercenary no longer had a fiery coat about him, but still hung wet with chemicals. He shouted an order to his Guardian Force, and she willingly gathered to her embers and leaping fire. Her brimstone hands glowing even brighter. Irvine and Zell braced themselves for an inevitable hit of roaring fire, while Rinoa shielded her dog as best she could from the blast, giving her a shell barrier to keep as much of the fire off of her as well.

The fire maiden released her ball of wicked flame. Futiley, Irvine held his hands out in front of him, expecting a rather hot and heavy blow.

A fast moving snake-like, punk of a beast came in between them and the fire ball, stopping it with a breath of dark green electricity that sprayed out of its skeletal maw.

_This is unexpected._ Thought Zell, looking at the back of the creature. "Hey, Squall," he started towards the scraggly boy. "Didn't know your new GF could counter like that."

"I didn't summon her." Replied Squall rather quietly, still looking at forward. The fire GF continued to pour her power into her inferno ball, straining from the effort. Strychnine's own countering electricity overpowered the inferno ball, enveloping it in green sparks impossibly dim for electricity. Giving up, the fire maiden let go of her attack, letting it get swallowed up in the green. She then, disappeared back to her host.

His surprise attack was botched. The mercenary cursed in Valoo towards Squall. The fires around him began to die down, but he did not leap for an attack.

"_No figgn' way he's goinna summon that bitch again!"_ Cloak yelled. Squall concurred with her, holding up both his hands, palms facing upwards. A beam of light shot up from his left palm, and a flame of eerie green, black, and purple shot up from his right.

The Forest Bears present were too awe struck to move. But, the foreigners knew what was to be expected, even the Forest Owls present were sceptical, and they flung themselves into the car bellow.

With no offerable weapon, Squall knew that he had to rely on his magic. Two spells, he held at the ready, two spells he had made a notorious combo.

"_Ylþ!_" Zombie! The first spell he threw like a ball, striking the mercenary right in the face. His skin began to rot at the touch, his hair grew greasy and pale. The impressive muscle mass he held began to dwindle, leaving him a slimey stick of morbid flesh and bone. Even the smell grew unpleasant with decay. Squall smiled at the mere thought of deathly white eyes, glaring at him angrily. The enemy opened his mouth to reveal his yellowed and rotting teeth, most likely attempting to curse at him some more, but the sound was muffled and scratchy.

He loved the zombie spell. He considered it more devastating then the forbidden spells, and more horrible then the sickly feeling that a demi spell could give someone. For it was truly devastating to have your very life force ripped from you without being killed, leaving a hallow husk that left one in pain and uncertainty.

One more spell remained. "_Sræ!_" Life! Life. A spell used to bring the unconscious back to consciousness, or, in the case of the undead monster, kill them.

And kill, it did. The zombiefied mercenary took a screeching leap at Squall, only to fall over limp at his feet, the remaining flame died out with him, as the corpse smoked and leaked a nasty smell. Zell nicked the man in his festering face to see if he was really dead. It wasn't like he was alive by any means.

The two sides had become more even. The Forest Bears had lost much of their numbers, and those left standing were not in the best shape. But, unlike the defeat of Ursula, they did not run off. Everything and everyone but the wind and the train stood still in the shock and the intense sea breeze, until another brawl was heard breaking out below. The Forest Bears that had jumped into the car below had started up with the Forest Owls. Highly concerned, Rinoa was the first to get up, heading for the ladder closest to her. Her way was blocked only by five Forest Bears, two of them held out hatchets, one had a javelin, a third had dagger, and the forth was a smaller girl with a spiked flail mace in hand.

Rinoa backed up, nearly falling off the edge of the train. The hatchets flew, both of them at Squall, each of them in turn shouted in alarm as he dodged them at such close range. One stray hatched had the misfortune to hit another of their fellow Bears, while another just lodged into the train roof. Taking the opportunity, Fujin grabbed the weapon, prying it out of the roof with little effort. She, in turn, threw the hatchet. With only one eye, her aim was not so precise, as it was aimed at the back of Squall's head. He dodged that hatchet as well, clearing the way for the weapon to lodge itself into the forehead of its former wielder.

A series of shots rang off from near Quistis. A remaining Forest Bear still had a gun, and he aimed it at Squall. He dodged all three shots. The gunner who fired stared at him wide eyed, quite sure that only the Devil himself could have dodged that number of bullets at such close range. Squall held out his hand again, a fierce, glowing ball of orange materializing above it.

_Kiss my ass._ Squall thought bitterly. "_Arrifüsa!_" Meltdown!. A great rush of radiation and fission energy swept towards the Bear, and, without a Guardian Force on him, the gunner was well nuked. Zell fallowed in behind, sending his own spell of meltdown, though he knew he didn't have nearly as many in stock as Squall had, and probably never would, that spell literally smelled awful.

"He's the strong link!" Shouted the girl with the flail mace. Shouting that, she leapt towards him, hitting him in his side with her weapon, flinging him towards the edge of the moving train. He would have gone over if it weren't for Irvine, who diligently caught him as he was sliding his way. His arm was badly wounded, and he hoped that no bones were broken.

It was then that the girl was recognized. Zell saw it first, saw the red hair, saw the pigtails, saw the candidate uniform, and the odd amber coloured, nearly transparent, sickle sticking out of her forehead like a horn.

"Dina? Where the hell did you come from?"

§

The Forest Owls could only go so far. Getting into the passenger's cars would get them caught, and they were lucky enough that hadn't happen already. They considered themselves even more lucky for the safety until several Forest Bears flooded into the car via door or windows. At a serious disadvantage of most of them not having a single weapon on them, they were only surprised for a second, counting their odds good as their enemies already looked too beat.

Three Bears were brought down fast by the simple punches of Cody, but they did not give up. The Forest Owls met them in an all out rumble, the broken Bears with their knives and hatches against the much healthier Forest Owls with their bare fists. Punches were thrown and scars were delivered. Sadly, one Owl: Danois, fell, stabbed too many times. His death was not entirely in vain, as the four deaths of Forest Bears was enough to avenge him. The fight wasn't just between the two rivalling groups, as the Moomba felt compelled to quell the fight.

Diving in, the sight of the three alien creatures was enough to make the Bears stall to stare at them. Bishop led the Moomba, indicating that he wanted no more bloodshed. Skilfully, each Moomba batted, snapped, and flailed their mighty paws at the advancing Bears, as well as any duel faced by any two humans. It was too bad the Bears were looking for a fight. Finally, Deacon was forced to kill a Bear by ripping his face off.

Other Bears topped the smallest Moomba, only to have the other two pull them off, flinging them out the windows both broken and not. Sly warked and cawed at the scene before him, it was not certain, but it seamed he was cheering for the Moomba.

§

"Dina? Where the hell did you come from?"

His question lead her to his presence, her mace twirling around on its chain at skull crushing velocity. Zell dove in at her, carefully timing his moves as to get a good kick at her without getting hit by the mace. Dina saw his move before he could read her, and she blocked his kick by whacking him in the hip. Zell was flipped over, hitting his temple against the train roof. She smashed the head of the mace down at him. The brawler rolled over, nearly getting his head crushed in with the roof that was recently under his head. Irvine aimed his gun, only to have Dina knock it out of his grasp, the flail had a longer reach then he thought. The gun flew off into the sea rushing past them.

_Oh crap._ Irvine thought with a shudder. Not only had he lost his best gun, but he was also rendered weaponless, and magic was not his strong point.

Quistis and Selphie charged Dina head on, weapons in front of them. Quistis nimbly jumped over the flail as it was flung low to trip her up, but was not in time to block the wicked left hook Dina had ready for her, Quistis' place was immediately filled by Rinoa. Dina winded Selphie with the head of her weapon before she had time to lift her nunchaku. Rinoa narrowly dodged the spinning flail head, but preferred to keep to the support of the brawl. She gave all her allies protective spells and more, as well as herself. Raijin took his stance beside the sorceress.

The oaken staff of the behemoth brute blocked her fearless attacks effortlessly, but he did not foresee the much smaller Dollet red head falling to her knees gracefully, tripping him up by swinging her slender leg under him. By the time Fujin had gotten to the fight, Quistis had gotten her bearings. She flung her pinwheel at Dina only to have the red head block it with her weapon, and tangle Quistis' whip on the chain of her flail.

Getting groggily to her feet, Selphie readied a spell. "_Naènka!_" Thundara. Turning away from the two taller women, Dina cast her own spell: "_Guar_!" Shell! A rounded sheild of partial opaque, sparkling pink unfolded around her. The _naènka_ did hit her, but not with as much ferocity as it would have, thanks to the shell spell around her.

Zell got up to a crouch, attempting to trip her, the same way she tripped Raijin. Only, Dina jumped over his leg, surprising him by kicking him in the face while she was still up in the air. Irvine hoped she didn't see him as he was slinking down over the ladder into the train below, wincing at the feel of sting of his wounded shoulder.

Fujin's pinwheel had only clattered to the car that was behind the fight. In any attempt to get it, she was blocked by Dina, as well as having said girl block or dodge every other physical technique thrown at her. She had to admit, if she was just a candidate, then she was a shoe-in for SeeD.

Seifer still stood several feet away from the fight, looking in awe and disgust at such failing attempts. Neither of the SeeDs landed any hit on the red head, whom was just a piddly candidate. It was almost painful to watch, as if her defeating the very people he had disliked, excluding Raijin and Fujin, was an insult.

Dina finished up blocking more hits from the trio that was Quistis, Raijin, and Selphie, until she came face to face with an arrogant Seifer. The girl surprised him by kicking him in the face. He fell backwards, rubbing his sore chin.

_Dammit! She's fast._ He thought. Dina twirled her mace around to get a good momentum before she smashed it down on Seifer, attempting to bash his face in. He rolled away just in time, as the head came down, smashing completely through the train. Several more times this happened before Seifer flung his feet into her stomach. The nimble girl foresaw this and grabbed him by the calves, propelling herself over him. She landed smoothly just a foot away from his head.

_What gives! What are you on girl?!_ Getting to his feet quick, he took to what he knew best: the gunblade. He swung Perish before him, the blade still heavy in his grasp. It was not hard for Dina to dodge all the attacks. Unexpected, she flung the head of the mace in such a way at Perish that she snagged it, pulling out of his hand easily. Perish landed several feet away from, closer to Squall.

"_It's Perish. Take it."_ Goaded Cloak. "_It's still yours. Isn't it?"_

No one else seamed to want to get between Seifer and Dina, although the obvious was that he was in a serious situation, without any suitable spell, or a Guardian Force for help, he was completely at the mercy of the girl and her flail.

Dina swung the flail vertically downwards, each time, causing Seifer to back off as to avoid the head of the weapon. The girl twirled her weapon above her head. Spinning fast enough, Dina sent the head down hard over Seifer's skull. In reaction, Seifer held his hand up over his head, darn well aware that the motion would not help at all.

His ears were met with a rather musical 'ping', quite the funny sound to make for metal breaking bone. He looked up only to see that Dina was sending another hit towards his face. The head fell with a 'ping' again, hitting a nearly invisible shield that glowed a soft blue for an instant as it made contact.

_Damn! Who cast that?!_ He growled inwardly, his head was okay, but his pride had been hurt.

The protect spell would not hold forever, and with the vicious blows from the mace, it would collapse very soon. Seifer was resorted to his fist, but Dina blocked them all with only one hand. She slapped him across the face once, twice, three times, after the sixth time, Seifer was forced to fall to the ground.

It seamed no use, the girl must have been a mind reader. That was the only way she could have acted before a move from either of them was made. That theory was put to the test when Zell came running at her again, his own fist raised. Dina merely stepped out of the way before he had even made his move to jump her. Once his back was turned due to the wild punch, she struck him in the back with her mace. Zell was sent sprawling towards the ladder, his back was not broken thanks to his own Guardian Forces, but would bruise fiercely.

Selphie and Quistis took one more charge at Dina, but the red head hit them fast and hard. Fujin and Raijin had to back off, what with being in the same situation as Seifer. Dina ran after them before the two even made a serious attempt at fleeing.

"Hey! Carrot Top!" Squall shouted, pointing a gnarled finger outwards, supposidly towards at Dina. She turned to look at him, fathoming that Fujin and Quistis were not a big concern. That distraction gave them enough time to make their escape.

Squall continued his insults. "Bet you feel high and mighty now, picking on SeeDs ten times your experience level!"


	2. Run

2

Run

The train continued smoothly about its course, cruising along the Horizon Bridge to a destination that could only be one: Esthar.

Though they had never been there, the Forest Owls were not frightened, mainly since Rinoa eased their minds of descriptions of what she had seen of the main city. They became more frightened of the fact of being found out, rather then a strange country. She never told the group that she had not gone to Esthar alone, she would wait to reveal that information. Time was still a precious commodity, and they were not out of the woods yet. Quistis had reminded them over and over again that if they were caught, they would be set down in Fishermen's Horizon where they would most likely be deported. And, as Watts had put it, there was 'no freakn' way they were going back to Timber', and who could blame them? The Galbadians would probably have all the names of the Forest Owl's on a list and shoot them on sight!

Seifer did not hesitate to bring up the matter of Dina. How was it that a candidate who was nearly killed by the plant-like Grat that prior weak, could take on four SeeDs, two highly experienced fighters, and one good looking, bad-assed rebel? Seifer was referring to himself as the 'good looking bad-assed rebel'. Quistis had suggested some sort of performance-enhancing drug, or one mega-souped-up Guardian Force they didn't know about. It made some sense, what with her bursting into flames, and the horn could have acted like her syringe. And where did she get Apep? Either she stole the Guardian Force from the 'House', or a SeeD gave it to her. Candidates were not allowed to hold onto Guardian Forces outside of their respective classes, only SeeDs had that privilege.

General consensus around the talkative ones was that she was definitely with the Forest Bears. For what reason, they could only ponder. She had never been to Timber by any recollection, how did she know of them? What had the Forest Bears to do with the Galbadians? Obviously, they had dropped them off. Watts had surmised that the Bears were caught and probably sent to prison. Was that fight some sort of a new form of mandatory service? Knowing the Galbadians, they didn't doubt it.

Any questions directed at Squall were rebutted with a sarcastic remark, or an even more sarcastic 'whatever'. He would not talk at all, for he had become preoccupied with an epiphany.

_Strychnine can talk when juncioned. None of my other Guardian Forces could communicate verbally with me once juncioned. Cloak can also talk to me. Is she…a rogue Guardian Force? I've never heard of such a phenomenon. Then again, there really isn't much known about the GF…A rogue GF, but how…Wait a minute! Time compression! After Ultimicia, after she…I killed her…I got stuck somewhere and ended up briefly in the past. I came face to face with my younger self, and a younger Matron. Ultimicia showed up, and transferred her powers to Matron before she gave up entirely. She probably transferred more then that! She did have Griever…still have no idea how, but, she probably had others with her, like Cloak. Cloak must have belonged to Unltimicia! And she's merely pissed at me because the woman was also pissed at me!_

"_What?!"_ Started Cloak sternly. "_That bitch?! Are you still bent on hope?! Words of advice. I'm not going ANYWHERE!"_

_The hell you are! Once we get to Esthar, I'm going to go find that clown the Moomba say is my old man, ask some questions, then hunt down Odine, and ask a few more questions._

"_Sounds like a plan. But one problem. You aren't traveling alone buddy boy."_

_Not a problem._

He had gotten a suspicious look from Fujin when she saw him stare ahead with the look of a viper about to snatch a rat, but ignored the look solely because it was Squall.

Both Quistis and Irvine carried with them the regular Guardian Forces plus the ones that were Squall's, just in case they had to give them back. They did not give them back because of just how unruly he had become. Though, it was a 'just in case' scenario, so they gave them to Seifer and his goons, reluctantly. To Fujin, they gave Cerberus, to Raijin, they gave Shiva, and to Seifer, they gave Bahamut.

The whole lot of them were asleep by the time the train made a pit stop in Fishermen's Horizon. Only Quistis was awake, as it was her turn to keep watch. While watching her post at the sliding door on the side of the train, she would glance past the sleeping stowaways from time to time. Seth had taken up a bed on top of a crate, with Cody sleeping against the side. Rinoa and three other Owls lay their heads against a snoozing Sly, while Angelo huddled in between her owner and Mordechai. Raijin and Fujin slept in a corner, each propped up beside each other, with Seifer right beside him. He was sleeping standing up, and leaning against the wall, Perish lowered in front of him.

The other three SeeDs also slept standing up, leaning against a wall, even Squall. Quistis looked upon him with amazement, the three Moomba asleep at his feet. He had been down trodden at Garden, forced to use his gunblade as a cane simply because his legs were giving out on him, and throwing up in toilets! Where had he suddenly gotten the strength to sleep standing up, or fight like he had? She knew he was blind, how did he manage to take on someone with the advantage of sight? Did his new Guardian Force give him more strength? It certainly gave him more speed. Still, where was the sight?

Irvine was not asleep standing up, but sitting up against another crate, still at the ready. It would be his watch soon. All around were the rest of the Forest Owls, sleeping rather soundly for the sticky wicket they were in. Quistis was just glad that none of them snored.

Several staff had gotten off and started to inspect the cars. Quistis spotted them coming down the row, only at the passenger cars, but making their way down. They had been suspicious with the burning car they drug in, why had they started the inspection with the passenger cars?

"Everyone good here?" One of them asked the passengers as he continued his way down. She noticed that they spoke Wayside Galbadian. They hit the cargo cars. Quistis heard the first door slide open, and the personnel confer to each other about the status of the car. For several seconds that seamed to stretch unfathomably, she debated whether to wake the rest, or deal with the problem herself.

The door slid shut on that car, and continued with the next. Quistis held her chain whip close to her. Backup or no backup, they were all in trouble.

Coming down the cars, they were eight ten away from them. Perhaps it was not too late to wake everyone up, tell them to get out and hide.

More doors slid open and shut. Selphie was right beside her, and Quistis was quite ready to wake her up and tell her to get ready.

Another car down, they were five cars away from them and closing. No time to evacuate everyone, the only option left was to hit the inspector over the head and hope no one got wise. Knock them all out, and highjack the train for the rest of the way. It wasn't the safest, nor smartest move, but…

Another door slid open, four cars down. Quistis squeezed her whip in reluctant anticipation. They moved to the third car down. She could feel the sweat running down herself, quite aware that her decision was the dumbest she ever had, but hiding was a buried choice by then. The inspection was at the second car down. There was still time to wake Selphie up for help, so what was stopping her?

They were now on the car right next to them. Quistis hesitated no longer and woke Selphie up, explaining quickly to her that they were in danger of being caught. It was Selphie who noticed that each one of them were carrying guns. Being out in the middle of the ocean, the law did not help their situation. For all they knew, if they were caught, the staff could shoot them like outlaws, dump their bodies in the ocean and no one would question them.

The door to the adjoining car closed shut with words of approval. Both Quistis and Selphie got their weapons ready, and Selphie had the bright idea to ask what the plan was.

Footsteps came closer; there was no turning back now. The door slid all the way open, revealing the face of the inspector: solemn, and unchanging. Quistis didn't know why but she found extreme difficulty bringing her whip for a stunning blow, and Selphie just stood where she was, ready for any attack, clearly expecting the man to call for backup.

In turn, the inspector just looked at them, studying them and the sleeping cargo behind them. He did not ask questions, did not even raise his gun.

"All fine here!" He called to the rest, and shut the door all the way. Quistis and Selphie were left pondering in the dark.

"What just happened?" The smaller of them asked.

"Beats me." Answered Quistis.

"I thought he wouldn't hesitate to raise his gun."

"I thought to, but…that's right, this is Fisherman's Horizon. They disdain guns, so they couldn't have shot us either way."

"So, your saying a Galbadian obeyed foreign law. Fancy that, didn't think 'twas possible."

They felt the train start up again, and they were relieved.

"Well," Quistis began, "better get some sleep as well. I'll wake Irvine up for his shift, could be awhile till we hit the east." They didn't bother discussing what had just happened further.

§

It was a long ride, but thankfully, they had no more interruptions until they stopped at their final destination.

Irvine took a skittish look outside the train. By that time, many of them were already up; he got them to wake the rest up. It was time to head out on their own.

Several all-terrain vehicles had shown up, and passengers were busy getting in, along with their luggage, no doubt that they would ride the rest of the way on them to Esthar City. Two of the personnel were discussing something several feet away, it was not hard for Irvine to make out the conversation.

"Arfus said we were attacked, probably explains those two last cars."

"You know, it was probably because of those rumours of that Guardian Force we were supposed to be carrying that they came. Several of those bodies we found were recognized as resistance members."

"And it was probably because of those bunch of kids in back that they didn't get to the passengers."

"Think they fought like wild cats?"

"Hey, Arfus did say at least two of them were armed."

"Oh, look, speaking of whom." The speaker pointed to the flood of stowaways that were running out of the car, ready to make their own way to Esthar.

"Think we should stop them?" The other asked.

"Nah, not worth it. Odds are, they're as good as dead out here if they walk. Other then that, they're Esthar's problem now."

The large group, headed by no one in particular, sprinted past the train. Some of the passengers looked over at the mob making their way past. Some were frightened of the occurrence, but most were simply curious.

"Hey," Irvine spoke, pointing to one of the all-terrain vehicles. "Why don't we grab on of those…"

"Not now Kineas!" Scolded Quistis.

The Forest Owls separated from the other half of the group, congregating around a large over crop of rock. It was Andy who spoke to them all in Mainstream, holding up his left hand and spreading two fingers outwards in a V shape. Squall stood his position as well, looking on. Rinoa also stopped, moving up beside Squall.

"Well," she started in Alcauldian, "this is probably the best time to do it."

"Do what!" Whined Seifer, stopping along with everyone else. He saw how the Forest Owls all congregated around one point, each in turn held up their hand, the two fingers on each fist in a V shape. They were chanting in a definite rhythm looking back towards the west, and Andy seamed to be the leader of it all. "C'mon, we haven't got time for this. We have tracks to tread!"

"Seifer, they're mourning!" Scolded Rinoa. "The _Uchaqasachoowis_ is a Timber funeral right! We've lost four people in one day for Blessed Hyne's Sake…!"

"Yeah Seifer," Squall stepped in, not as angry as Rinoa sounded. "You would be defending the _Vokrisðidasnarin_, dip wad."

"Bet it doesn't take as long as this!"

"It's only lasted a minute."

As the two continued to fling the argument, Rinoa couldn't help but feel a definite sense of thanks towards Squall for sticking up for the culture she had taken in so willingly. Was it for her? Was it because he was more worldly? Or, was it simply to start an argument with Seifer? All three were a distinct possibility.

§

O-labs buzzed with a mixed excitement and anxiety that wasn't felt since they unearthed the illusive Crystal Pillar. To make maters even more tense, they were expecting a visit from the most politically powerful man in Esthar.

Prime Minister Laguna stepped past the tall stainless steal door. Several pairs of eyes met him as he marched past highly reflective halls, rounded hydraulic doors and photon powered levitators.

"Dr Odine!" He called out, entering a large room of several wall monitors and consoles. The floor was of a fuchsia tile with a grand holo-graphic tile on the floor that stretched several feet in length, and over a meter in width. Odine stood in front of one of the consoles with several scientists crowded around him. He turned wily to see who had interrupted his discussion. The rotten scowl on his face changed very soon when he saw who it was.

"Oh, Prime Minister Loire! So glad you could come. Been expecting you for avile." The midget of a man took hold of one of Laguna's hands and started to shake it wildly in greeting.

Laguna had to shake his hand loose from the doctor before he spoke. "Yeah, likevise. Now, I've been getting all sese calls from everyvere, about sis...thing!" He pointed at one of the monitors that had a picture of the Unidentified Flying Object. "I don't know about you. But I, for one, am getting sick of trying to stall sese guys. Now have you made any headway here, or am I going to have to break some bad news and a couple of jaws!"

_My, but you sound frustrated._ Thought Dr. Odine. He pressed a glowing green button on one of the consoles. The room dimmed, and the holo-graphic tile started to light up.

"Good news, bad news time!" The doctor changed, standing right at the ledge of the glowing tile. A holographic depiction of the U.F.O. before them, spinning around to give them a good look at what they had so far. The Estharian satellites had started to relay radio waves as soon as they had learned about the presence of the visitor. So far, the front of the 'ship' looked clear, sharp, and well focused. A protrusion at the front of the craft made it look like it had a long neck and draconic head. The back of it though, was rather rounded and a bit hazy, meaning that the information hadn't gotten to that part, or the radio waves weren't getting there.

"Zee good news," Odine started with glee, "is zat ve do indeed know zis zing is of unknown origin, so everybody can stop bozering us about it."

"Sank you." Sighed Laguna, thankful that he finally had an answer for those media vultures. "Vait a minute. Sat doesn't sound like good news to me."

"Hold on. Hold on. Let me finish. Now, zat is zee good news because ve now have a better understanding of vat it is, regardless if it is from some planet light years avay from us. Zee bad news is ve have failed to make contact viz it."

"Vell, I dunno. Sat sounds like two bits of bad news to me."

"Oh, alien, Eszarian, Trabian, it does not matter vat zee origin is." Now, it was Odine's turn to get frustrated. "Vat matters is if zere is communication betveen us. Now, ve have sent radio waves to zem, but ve have not gotten so much as a blip back." He motioned to the other doctors at the consoles. "Ve're getting some alternative communication options ready. Hopefully, zey did not take zee first try zee vrong vay."

"And if sey did?"

"Please don't zink zat vay. It may jinx us."

"Huh? I sought you scientists veren't superstitious."

"Zat can also jinx."

"Sorry."

One of the doctors at the consoles turned around. "Dr. Odine, ve have someting!" Odine rushed towards the monitor that was mentioned. The picture had gone to blue static fuzz. "Tis screen just petered out on me."

To him, Laguna had a hard time wondering what was so important about screen fuzz and white noise, but Odine seemed as a kid at Christmas.

"Excellent!" Replied the doctor, not able to hold back a considerable amount of enthusiasm. "Put boz visual and audio feedback to zee hard drive, it could be zem!"

"Putting gold and silver to hard drive." Started the other doctor, what with gold being 'visual' and silver being 'audio'. It only took a couple of buttons before the task was done. Laguna still hadn't a clue as to what they planned to get out of it all. For a while, Odine and the other doctors stared at the screen, Laguna was constantly hopping on his feet to get a better view over their heads.

"Dr. Lavrie." Odine stared with authority. "See if you can get tabs an every electric appliance in zee city. It's possible zat zee message sent to use could have knocked out all communications."

"On it." Started Lawrie, typing in a few keys. With Esthar's advanced surveillance, it did not take long to collect tabs. "No, everyting else is vorking."

Dr. Odine's excitement rapidly dropped. "Is zis zee cause of a vayvard radio transmission?"

"No, tis is an electrical problem."

"DAMN! Zis is probably a fluke of zee equipment. Shut off zee copy…"

"Vait!" Another doctor started. "Ve're getting somesing here!"

All the doctors glared closer at the screen. Laguna had even more trouble seeing what was going on. The visual on monitor started to skip like analog, the white noise grew and receded in obvious pitch until it fell to a constant screeching noise that reminded everyone of nails on a chalkboard. And then the fuzz started to take on definite shapes.

It was a few lines at first, and then some rather odd organic shapes, until the fuzz started to take on the form of runes. The right of the screen constantly held the image of one large ruin, while the other side; numerous tiny ruins scrolled up at the left of the screen.

"Trace zis!" Ordered Odine. "Is zis radio or electrical interference?"

"Dis is electrical also."

"Incredible."

"Could you please translate vat sis all means?!" Shouted Laguna to Dr. Odine.

"Oh, I couldn't do zat." Replied the doctor with a chuckle. "I don't recognize zis screed…"

"No, I mean sis whole electrical/radio thing you guys are talking about. Vat se hell does it mean anyway?!"

"Oh, zat. Vell, if you insist. Radio vaves are famous for being able to travel in zee vacuum of outer space. Electrical, however, cannot do zat. So, if our little message is electrical, it couldn't have possibly come from outer space vere zese aliens obviously are."

"So it vould have to come from sis planet." Laguna concluded, giving himself a thoughtful pat on the back.

"Exactly. And zat can only mean one of two zings…"

One of the other doctors interrupted. "Dr. Odine, ve can't trace de source."

"Vat?!" He turned from Laguna with frustration on face and mind.

"Every time ve input 'electrical', the computer says it isn't receiving anyting. It's as if dis message isn't even here!"

"Are ve being hacked?!"

"It's a possibility." Stated Lawrie. "But if ve are, it's a damn good job if our computer isn't getting vise to it."

The holographic image of the alien craft that stood forgotten started to twitch and sputter with more interference, but the scientist were too intent on the message on the monitor. Only Laguna saw this. The face of the tile mimicked a hologram of a simple, rocky terrain. The U.F.O. image tilted, with its 'head' pointing downwards. There was a glowing spark at the open base of the head that looked like some kind of mouth. The spark created a beam that shot into the terrain hologram. More interference came, and the scene unfolded again the same as before: lean, spark, shoot, rewind, lean, spark, shoot, rewind, lean, spark, shoot…


	3. Oldest Requim

3

Oldest Requime

Day Two: Squall woke up on his salty bed of hard rock, his mind carried straight away to the creature they had just mangled not so long ago. That visage hadn't stood a chance. The Moomba proved to be more capable fighters then one would have guessed, and Squall learned that each one of them also possessed a Guardian Force each.

_The very essence of SeeD,_ thought Squall, _that union of ethereal and physical entity, which makes us superhuman and horrible to both see and fight in the eyes of the 'normal', has always been in the hands of those who are already superhuman and horrible to both see and fight. Well, one mystery solved. On to the next._

"_Don't get up."_ Pleaded Strychnine.

_Not an option._ Defying that plea, he came to a sitting position, and an aching realization that his back hurt with a passion. Slouching over, he put a hand to the back of his abdomen, it hurt even to touch it, like he had been stabbed in the back several times and someone decided to leave the knives in there.

"_Told you not to get up."_

_Thanks girl. I'll remember that when I'm shrivelled and dying in some salt mound in the middle of nowhere._ "Hey, could I get a hand here." He signalled with a motion of his hand for assistance from one of the three Moomba. Deacon put up a fuss that he didn't want to help for fear he would make it worse. Cardinal gave up getting him and Bishop to stop arguing, and plodded over to Squall herself. Taking both his hands behind him, and putting a foot on his back, she wrenched his arms towards her while pushing her foot down. Squall's back snapped like a mousetrap, causing him to scream. He continued to kneel in place, waiting till the singing pain subsided, even after Cardinal let go of his hands. His glaring blind eyes looked right up at a sky what was of a sickly grey, only allowing the light of two suns to shine through.

"_Two suns."_ Squeaked Strychnine curiously. "_There weren't two suns yesterday."_

Squall nearly fell over one his side, as he vacantly looked upwards, aiming Strychnine's vision towards the two shining orbs, visible with a weak light through the haze.

He snapped out of his daze only when he was nudged in the shoulder. Bringing his hand up, he felt the beak of a chocobo right by him. Sly had gotten up beside him; his marble brown eyes reflected the twin suns above. The bird gave a tiny coo, and Squall put his arms around his neck, messing up the feathers in his hug. Sly let out a contented wark as he stroked his beak lovingly. It was the first time he truly tried to look with his hands. On the beak, he felt two distinct gashes, probably remnants of a fight with another chocobo. Near that, he found a line of dents just under it. Sly had most likely tried to crush something too strong for his beak.

_I'm waiting any day now for Boko to come back._ He thought with sentimentality. That chicabo had been a gift, but the little thing had more energy then a Zell hooked up to eight cylinders. He couldn't keep that thing still. He couldn't keep Zell still either, but at least Squall knew his motives. As a result, Boko disappeared, and he had no clue what happened.

Sly shrugged out of the hug, sitting down in front of Squall, it exposed his saddled back to him and held his head up high, a sign that he was letting him mount. Putting his hand onto the empty saddle, his hands braced on Sly's back, Squall lifted himself into a near-standing position, getting one leg over the saddle. Sly stood up as he took his reins, starting of at a walking pace, the Moomba right beside him. Deacon seamed very excited, as he skipped up in front of the procession.

§

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

Seifer had enough of Raijin's insistent questioning. "Look, I've never been here! Nor do I have a damn clue what we're looking for! So stop asking!"

"Oh, okay." Agreed Raijin, feeling a little downtrodden from the accusation. "So…are we there yet?"

"NO!" Shouted Fujin, kicking her brother in the shin.

_Once again,_ Seifer thought with a relieved sigh, _I am grateful for the company of Fujin, the one who can shut her idiot brother up the fastest._

"_You're despicable!"_ Quipped Bahamut.

He had reached a critical breaking point. "Oh shut up!" Yelled Seifer, stopping the whole lot of the group around him.

"Stop what?!" Shouted a confused Irvine. "I didn't do nothing!"

"I'll tell you what!" He continued to yell in the general direction behind him. "Bahamut!! That damn Guardian Force won't shut his beaky trap! And here he belonged to Rat Boy! Mr. Silent Touch! Resident Ogre! Professor Killjoy! And so forth!"

Quistis, shoving her way among the group, stepped up in front of Seifer with a look of confusion and rage. "Seifer, Guardian Forces don't communicate verbally, at least not after they're junctioned."

"Well, he's talking to me! And he…whatcha…freakn' bloody hell! He's talking right now, damn ethereal prick!" He turned angrily to Raijin. "You wanna trade?! This bastard is driving me up the wall and around the ceiling!"

"Uh uh." Was Raijin's simple answer, holding up his hands and backing off. "You piss GF's off, ya know. And since I've summoned Shiva once, I have better compatibility with her, ya know."

Grudgingly, he gave up on Raijin and moved to Fujin. "Hey, Fujin! Wanna trade?!"

"HELL NO!"

"You wanna trade Trepe? No, better yet, I'll **give** you Bahamut! How does that sound?"

"Though tempting it would be to have the King of Dragons," began Quistis in her lecturing tone. "The odds of running into a monster like the one we met recently is high. You will need him more then you know."

"What?! We could have simply ran for it! Like John Dory and his pets did if we weren't logged down with extra baggage!" He shoved Quistis aside angrily, glaring at the Forest Owls.

One at a time, he named them off accusingly with his given nick names, using Galbadian harshly. "I can't believe we had to suffer for this brigade: Tattoo Face, Skinny Boy, Zits, Blondie, Pissy Pants, Weasel Eyes, Slick, Shorty, Butt Face, Boner, Squeaker, Chuckle Head, Gross Thing, Halitosis, Girly Man…and lets not forget the Queen of the Harpies!" Seifer spat in Rinoa's general direction.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!" She screeched back.

"You know what it means, YOUR MAJESTY!"

They were nearly about to go at each others throats but Rinoa was stopped by Andy, Keith, and Lucky, while Seifer was stopped by Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Grouter, Markus, Red Hawk, well…pretty much anybody else who wasn't holding Rinoa back.

"Now, there's no point in killing each other over petty squabbles!" A reasonable Quistis reasoned. "If the monsters don't do that first, it will be the elements that will!"

"Is she saying we're all goinna die?" Questioned Mordechai.

"YES!" Watts snapped with panic. "WE'RE ALL GOINNA DIE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FUCKING WHITE DESERT! NO ONE KNOWS WE'RE OUT HERE! WE'LL ROT IN THE SALT, BE SCAVANGED BY UNHOLY LIVING DEAD. WE'LL BE _OUCH!_"

Andy took the liberty of hitting Watts over the head. "We're not goinna die here! Not if you don't shut your whine pipe and open your brain pipe!"

"That's unfair biased!" Red Hawk angrily yelled. "We all know Watts has no brain!" This got a huge brawl going. Everyone punched out anybody for the slightest remark.

Coming to a realization, Irvine climbed onto a huge rock overlooking the brawl. "HEY, SHUT THE FUCK UP EVERYONE!" Surprisingly, everyone stopped in their action, clearly showing who had whose neck in a death grip, and who was ready to punch someone's lights out. "We're all, like, just cranky because we have no food, not water, the heat is intense, we have no idea where we are, and whatever damn miasma may be in this Hyne forsaken cave!"

There was a long pause where everyone else contemplated this thinking.

Fujin spoke up first. "GALB'S RIGHT!"

Angered again, Irvine jumped down from his rock to land in front of her. "Don't call me a GALB!" With a nasty left hook, he punched Fujin in the nose.

"HEY!" Shouted Markus in Galbadian. "That was uncalled for!"

"Says who! Tree Hugger!"

"Oh, thems fightn' words!" He gave Irvine his own left hook. Knocking him against the rock he came down from. "That was an uncalled for cultural slur!"

Selphie got behind Markus. "Slur this!" She hit him over the head with her nunchaku.

The Owls shouted angrily in response, yelling that that was 'uncalled for', and that 'weapons were no fair'. They all started to attack Selphie with their own weapons. Irvine and the other SeeD's started to attack the Owls, and there was absolutely no excuse for Seifer to get involved. Soon, the fight was going on just as before, only with whatever weapons the lot of them could find. The fight only stopped when a slight cracking could be heard. All went silent, keeping the poses they had only moments ago: Zell with his hands around the necks of Seth and Markus. Red Hawk with his fist drawn back, ready to punch a pinned Quistis in the nose. Raijin with Irvine in a headlock. Angelo with her mouth still dug into Seifer's leg. Selphie with her mouth still dug into Mordechai's arm…

The crackling became more intense, as if something was breaking. No one dared voice an opinion; for fear that the slightest of move, the slightest of sound, would send the ceiling careening onto them.

For all their silence, for all their staying still, it did not prevent the floor from collapsing underneath them. The lot screamed and scrambled in surprise for as long as they could before the rubble settled onto the floor below them.

A single rock twitched on its spot. Dropping from its perch, Raijin appeared dazed and light headed, holding his hand to his head to steady himself.

"Is everyone okay, ya know?" He called out. His answer was moans and dizzy answers from the rest. One by one, they crawled out of the rubble; some needing more help to do so then others. Luckily, nothing was broken. To Seifer's great surprise and horror, his back was thrown off a bit, making sitting up hurt drastically.

Bahamut began to speak. "_Magic does not heal…"_

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. Magic can't heal fractures. I've only been told that every fuckn' hour on the hour in Garden." He knew it wouldn't be a permanent bandage, but he had to do something for his back. "_Orfrsvid."_ Curaga he called the spell by name, its glittering mist wrapping around his arm, vanishing into his back. The pain subsided with it, and he was able to stand up with no obstacle.

"Where the hell are we?" Zell asked, rubbing his maimed head as he stood up.

"Haven't a clue." Answered Irvine as he pulled got Angelo free of some heavier rocks. He took a glance around; noticing that the chamber they had gotten into was not at all natural. Distinctly, he could make out corners, and a couple of lentils that were pointed, as if carved.

"Can say one thing though," he began again, "this ain't no cave." He swept away some of the dust from the floor, coughing as the particles invaded his nostrils. On the floor, just barely able to make them out, he traced a finger along carved glyphs.

Horizontal hieroglyphs! Irvine knew about vertical ones, but not many that one could step on. "Check these out!" He started towards Zell, motioning for him to look at the floor. "Floor writing."

"Wish I could write on the floor like that." Commented Zell longingly.

"Floor writing!" Shouted Markus in Mainstream, indicating all the other Forest Owls. Everyone looked down at their feet, in awe of the hieroglyphs they stepped on.

Quistis looked down at her sandled toes. _Hey, these marks look familiar._

"USELESS!" Started Fujin in Alcauldian.

"Damn straight!" Agreed Seifer. "This writing is worth jack shit unless we know what the hell it means!"

"Have some damn curiosity, will you!" Snapped Rinoa. "You don't see vertical writing often!"

Raijin agreed with her. "She's right, ya know."

"Hey! I found something!" Selphie cheered a ways away, jumping up and down happily beside a wall. As they got closer to her, they knew what she was talking about. Feeling the wall in the darkness, it was clear by the large rectangular indentation that there was a door there. But how to open it…

"Great. Now what?" Dismissed Quistis. "How do we open this thing?"

Andy turned to the Forest Owls. "_Lukwa nim. Kewin hiqaach ah tümpik, chwata, eh sanqipum!_" Look around. There is probably a button, or switch, or something!" All the Owls, including Rinoa, started to thumb around the indentation, while Zell tried out his fists on it. The option didn't budge the door, assuming it was.

"Dammit! Why won't this thing…" He took another swing at it, "…budge?!"

"_Tuka!_" Began Red Hawk, looking up from where a group of Forest Owls were huddled. "_Mülapun!_" Keyhole!

Guessing the call was urgent, the rest of the group huddled in as best they could to the small crack Red Hawk found.

"Could we get a light here?" Quistis asked in Galbadian.

Rinoa squirmed up in front, a ball of fire emerged from her upturned palm. Her free palm, she put over the flame like a roof. The closer she brought her palms together, the brighter the fire became.

"Nice trick." Quistis complimented.

"Thanks. I learned it during a blackout."

The crack in the wall did look a lot like some sort of keyhole that needed a pretty big key.

"Well, guess we aren't getting though without whatever key went in here." Quistis started dejectedly.

"It's not like we can climb back up either." Reminded Irvine. "Rinoa, could you aim that lantern of yours upwards?"

Rinoa did as Irvine suggested. For the first time, they all could see what sort of distance they fell, it was probably only two meters/six feet or so, but the hole they made was huge. They could also see the walls around them. They were in some sort of pentagon shaped room. The walls were a very dark green, smeared with dark colours of blue, brown, and purple. Small points of specularity were all over them, shining like the crystals in the rock above them. And on the wall only meters to the right of the door, was a very aged looking pike. The shaft of the weapon was starting to turn green and mouldy, while the head was dinted and scratched up, housing all sorts of dirt and grime in its scratches and nooks. The pike looked to be strapped into the wall with three black binds. It was cased in a rectangular depression in the wall, but if there were anything over it, like glass, or bars, there wasn't any longer. Some sort of large, diamond shaped panel was placed on the box's right. Clearly, there looked to have been four buttons on that thing at one time, each one making up a quarter of that diamond panel. But one was missing, and two looked ready to come off.

"Must be for security's sake." Dismissed Irvine.

"Yeah," quipped Zell. "A pike'll serve as goood security."

Angelo was the only one who dared to get close to it. Looking up, she took a tentative sniff, and started barking for the attention of the humans behind her.

"Yo! S'up with Angelo?" Asked Zell.

"Maybe that thing's actually alive." Answered Seifer slyly. "Go touch it. Unless you're too chicken."

"Am not man!…You go touch it."

"What's this I hear? Is Chicken Wuss too chicken?"

"No I'm not! I just want you to put you're nerves where your mouth is!"

"Chicken!"

"AM NOT…!"

"Knock it off you two." Intervened Quistis.

"Then why don't you go touch it Trepe?" Seifer dared.

"I will then." She didn't move from her spot.

Seifer wasn't too impressed. "Now what are you trying to do? Call it to you with your mind?"

"No! I'm just…pacing myself."

He gave a look of sarcastic disbelief. "It's a fucking pike! What's their to pace?!"

"_Then why don't you go get it."_ Bellowed Bahamut.

"Shove it Dragon Boy!"

"Fine! I'll get it!" Yelled Rinoa over his ranting. Still holding her lantern, she stepped up to the pike, Angelo looking up at her thoughtfully.

"Hold this for me, will you Selphie?" And she handed Selphie her lantern. Looking at it curiously, the smaller girl could see that it no longer looked like a ball of fire, but a miniature, palm held sun. Gripping the pike at the middle of the shaft, Rinoa pulled the weapon away, finding that the bonds fell away like dry tea paper. At that time, the lantern in Selphie's hand started to get hot, and she was forced to drop it. The lantern was snuffed out as soon as it hit the ground, enveloping the whole group in darkness once more.

"Oh shit." Commented Fujin.

A small, shining glow of fuchsia came from Rinoa's chest. Seeing this, she clutched the chain around her neck, bringing up the two pieces of jewelery that hung on it. One of those pieces was the source of the glow, and it was the Griever ring. The group gaped in awe at the tiny ring of glowing light as she held it up, not nearly as bright as the lantern, but still casting a slight light. Unfortunately, that light snapped out of existence as soon as the floor bellow them started to buzz and spark. It got several screams out and a lot of shouts and hollers of panic, but they were as short lived as the show of sparks. As they left, the hieroglyphs alighted with a soft teal glow, revealing clearly the perimeter of the floor. This light was even less brilliant then the ring, but at least they knew where to step.

"Well," started Irvine, sounding very chipper, "let's try that pike out, shall we? That head looked about big enough to, like, fit in that keyhole. Rinoa, you up for pickn' locks?"

The head fit in perfectly, and there was no need to force anything. Whatever technology it was, at a turn of the weapon, the lock lifted, and the door was loose. It looked like it would have slid open all the way, but got stuck only a third of the way open. Only the smallest in the group would have been able to get through.

Angelo had the right idea to poke her head through. Selphie, Watts, and Zell fallowed her example. Beyond was a stairway, lined by ridged pillars that seamed to stretch from the dark below, to the dark above. The stairs were aglow with the same hieroglyphs, even the inner ridges of the pillars were glowing, but only around the stairs. Looking down the edge of those stairs, there were more hieroglyphs, indicating that there was a floor beneath them.

Wriggling her way though the door, Selphie managed to get onto the other side, and nearly fell down the stairs.

"Okay now, let's pry this thing open." She began to Zell and Watts. "You guys back there can help too." Since Watts was not very into heavy work, it was left mainly to Zell and Selphie to open the door up the rest of the way. The door squealed and scraped against the seemingly ancient friction it bore.

After much grunting and cursing, they got the door open all the way. Leading the way at first, was Quistis, but she was soon lagging behind Seifer. Every one of them looked around them, awe struck at the glowing writing below them, the grand pillars that seamed to stretch high above them. They all fanned out as the stairs evened out to floor.

"I feel like I'm on an alien ship." Wondered Brix.

"I feel like I just died and I'm in the judgment hall." Wondered Red Hawk.

"I feel like I'm in that part of a dream that veers off into a nightmare." Wondered Watts.

"This is one bitchn' party hall! Eh?" Seifer shouted, running around the place. "The one in Garden is shit compared to this place!"

"It would be nicer if we could see a little more then just what the hieroglyphs outline." Fumed Quistis.

"Not a problem." Zell assured them. "Hey! Rinoa, could we get one of the glow thingies again?"

She was not hesitant to oblige once more. Setting the pike down, she conjured the fire, and she placed her hand over it, pushing it down to get brighter. The glowing hieroglyphs paled in comparison, looking like they weren't even luminescent in the light. The room appeared huge as was previously guessed. The ceiling above was riddled with calcium growth and cracks, but under that, it could be made out that it was made up of pentagon shaped tiles, possibly with stepped relief; it was too far up, and too dilapidated to tell clearly. The walls were too far away and dilapidated as well to determine corners, though, it did appear very round, held up by the same pillars that were lining the stairs. Of course, those pillars were thicker then those by the stairs, judging solely by the face they looked larger then those, but held some odd dark splatters and scratches along them, making them look morbid and foreboding. Looking again, they could see that those same splatters and scratches were evident on the smaller pillars. Huge dents were rendered in the sides of the lower elevations, and one of them was even missing a meter or two away from the coulomb, letting the top half dangle. The lower stairs had the splatter and scratches on them, and the floor was littered with huge smudges of the dark splotches, and etched with fierce gouges, marring some of, but not all, the writing.

Before them were six large statues, around four meters in height. They were carved in likeness of human beings; angels, one would assume, with only three of them with wings. One of the statues was missing most of a wing. Four of the statues had heads carved of youthful woman, but the other two, hadn't any heads at all. The base of one of the headless statures was partially gone, looking as if knocked away with a large sledgehammer. Two of the statues were missing both arms, only one statue was short of just one. In the light, the remaining eyes glinted with the reflecting light, but out of the four heads, only five of those eyes were glinting. Each stature was painted with the grotesque splatters that were everywhere else, and supported the same scratches and wear

In the centre of that circle the decrepit angelic statues formed, there was another ring carved in the floor, glowing like the hieroglyphs, splashed in the same stain, marred with the same gouges. The way the splatters were applied to everything, it looked to Rinoa and several others like an artist with a huge brush came in and proceeded to splash his dark paint around with his brush.

Kneeling down, Selphie picked up a small pebbled on the ground, lying in on of the dark smudges. The pebble had rather sharp corners, not something she usually found in small rocks. Was it debris?

_Maybe this thing can tell me what this place is._ Selphie concluded to herself. To get her answer, she called the spell by name to aim it: "_Muua_" Scan. Her vision wavered, as if she were looking into a pond, and the pebble seamed to stream towards her, releasing its secrets to her: what it was, its age, what it was made of, where it came from, and the like. From that moment on, her perception of the oddly beautiful room slipped to morbidly haunting ruins.

"'Tis bone!" She alerted the rest, speaking in Alcauldian. "'Tis human bone!"

Everyone else turned to face her. Those that understood her wondered what made her say that, as for those that didn't, they wanted to know what made her say that as well.

"No way!" Blurted Zell. "You found a bone shard in this dump?!"

"Aye." She bent down and picked up another shard, holding it up with her first. "And this one is too."

Quistis found a shard on the floor, hidden in shadows. "_Gjar_" Scan. It read just the same. "She's right! These are pieces of bone!"

"Only bone shards?!" Questioned Seifer.

Fujin suggested a theory. "LOOSE MONSTER?"

"Even a renegade monster would leave some bones in tact! But I don't see anything that would resemble a skeleton!"

Watts approached Rinoa, looking very worried. "What are you talking about, sir?"

"Selphie found human bone fragments. I think we just stumbled onto the reason this place is filled with death!" She answered.

"Looks like Strychnine was in here." Commented Zell.

Irvine looked puzzled at hearing the name. "Strychnine?"

"Yeah. That Guardian Force of Squall's. Call's her Strychnine. Looks like she pulled a purée here."

"Maybe he got here before we did and encountered some resistance."

"Not likely." Contradicted Quistis. "The bone fragments are thousands of years old."

"Besides," started Seifer, pacing behind Zell. "He's probably dead or dying somewhere in this salt desert at this very moment!"

Rinoa stopped where she was heading, into the centre of the angel ring. She imagined Squall lying on the singing hot floor of the dead lake, his breathing laboured and shallow like a pothole in the road. Vultures circled overhead of him, landing on his exposed side and pecking at whatever they could get at. Though it hurt, he had neither the energy nor the will to swat them away as one of the scavenging birds started pecking at his blistered eye. Rinoa was too disgusted and horrified to think any further. She was ready to yell at Seifer for thinking such things, but her decision changed when she remembered when he was 'supposedly' executed for attacking the late President of Galbadia. Squall wasn't at all chocked up about his fate, in fact, he chuckled at it, a sort of chuckle that froze the heart and squeezed the lungs. It was only logical that Seifer didn't let anything on at all.

Grouter picked up the discarded pike and stepped into the circle. Watts and Rinoa fallowed him to the very middle. Another keyhole was in the centre, plugged into the floor.

"Dare me to open it?" Goaded Grouter.

"Hell no!" Answered Watts.

Rinoa agreed with him. "The last lock opened the door up there, and it looks like we're standing on another. Who knows if this thing will just swing open and we fall into some sort of particle accelerator, or oil tankard, or…"

Watts looked very relieved that she was taking his side.

"Well, that last door slid open and happened to get stuck not but half way open." Defended Grouter.

"You sure we should take that chance?"

"Hey, it's not like we can get out of here any other way. Chance seems to be the only logical explanation."

"Touché, turn that bugger."

"What?!" Shouted Watts in disbelief.

"Oh, c'mon Watts." Rinoa scolded. "Live a little for once."

Grouter drove the pike into the keyhole and turned, or at least, tried too. The lock was jammed by something, and the pike was hard to turn to start with.

"Oh, you're doing it all wrong." Criticized Rinoa.

"How would you know? You only did this once!"

"Exactly. I did this once. Move over!" Pushing Grouter aside, she took hold of the pike, dropping the lantern again. As before, the lantern snuffed out. Only the glowing of the hieroglyphs and the pillar ridges were left.

"Hey! Who killed the lights?!" Shouted Irvine in Galbadian.

Watts answered him. "It was Rinoa!"

There was mutual disappointment throughout the group. Made evident their displeasure was the groans and cusses that swam through the darkness. Besides that, Rinoa could not turn the lock as well.

"PROBLEM?" Asked Fujin, causing Watts to scream out of surprise. In the darkness, she had gotten right next too him, curious as to what their congregation was about.

"Why hello freaky one eyed albino chick." Greeted Rinoa with sarcasm.

"NAME'S FUJIN DAMMIT!"

Zell managed to find the centre group. "Yo! S'up peoples?"

"BITCH!"

"Now that was uncalled for."

"She probably means me." Grumbled Rinoa.

"Oh, well that takes a load off my mind."

Scoffing at that remark, she started on a more pressing topic. "Hey, Zell, could you lend us a hand here. We got the pike in another keyhole but it won't turn on us."

"Oh, need a little muscle? You asked the right man! Alright, let me give this thing a look. Hmm, shaft feels a little spongy to me…kinda thick…"

"That's my arm!" Whined Watts.

"Not now Watts, I gotta pike to turn…" Turn, he did. Watts screamed as Zell gave him a nasty Snake Bite. Under his breath, he cursed in Mainstream. Grouter went over to him as he wailed piteously.

"Turned rather easy I'd say." Zell started proudly. "Kinda noisy."

"Zell, the shaft is over here." Remarked Rinoa sternly, having a good idea that it was he that made Watts yell like that.

He looked confused. "There's another one?"

She felt the dizzying ache of a migraine coming on solely because of him. _I need a tranquilizer._

Fujin kicked Zell in the shin.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"IDIOT!"

"Someone call me, ya know?" Started Raijin, directed by sound towards his sister. "That didn't even hurt when you hit me that time, ya know."

Fujin kicked _him_ in the shin.

"Ow! I felt it that time, ya know!"

Their cause was getting nowhere. Rinoa tried the lock again, but with the same results. "Hey, can we get a little more help here. Preferably someone who won't mistake an arm for a cold stick."

"Did Chicken Wuss injure someone?" Seifer asked snidely.

"Yes, he mistook Watts' arm for the pike. Fujin hit him for it."

"That's my girl. 'Ol' Idiot Smacker' they call her."

"Yeah, well," she sighed before she spoke further, despising to ask Seifer for any help, "Could you help me turn this shaft. The lock won't budge beneath it."

"You sure? Maybe if you asked nicely, I might consider helping…"

,br 

"Just turn the damn lock before I turn you into a newt!"

"You wouldn't."

"We're in the middle of nowhere. I think I can exercise a little Sorceress might."

"Okay! Okay!" Both he and Rinoa grasped the shaft and turned…turned…turned…It still wouldn't budge.

"Oh, you know what the problem is?" Began Seifer in a cocky tone. "This thing isn't all the way down."

"Seifer, NO…" Not paying attention to Rinoa's protest that he could just jam the rest of the lock, he ploughed the pike down the rest of the way until they both heard a slight click. He turned the pike in his hand, and it budged. The ground beneath them shuddered instantaneously and violently, throwing off balance anyone who was in the circle. Those outside of the circle did not take the vicious clanking noise of machinery well. The circle quieted, then gave one, less violent and noisy shudder before it started to descend.

"OH MY GOD!" Wailed Watts. "WE'RE GOINNA DIE! WE'RE GOINNA DIE! WE'RE GOINNA…!"

Grouter gave him a good slap across the face. "You know, just because you say we're goinna die doesn't make it so!"

The contraption shuddered again, and halted.

"See, still alive." Assured Grouter.

"You guys, like, all right down there?" Irvine called to them.

"I think so, ya know." Answered Raijin.

"The hieroglyphs are still glowing down here." Zell started.

"We can see that Zell." Selphie he called back.

Rinoa conjured another lantern, pausing in fascination at what the light revealed. They had descended under the huge dark room into a huge dark cavern. The light clearly caught the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, there was no sight of whole coulombs, but the very length of the cones spoke loudly that the place was old. It was too much to say the place was natural; there were glints of metal pillars, probably buttresses. The circular platform that they were on, was lowered by six large mechanical arms, probably positioned under the angels, and underneath them, was a vast underground lake of liquid.

Illuminated by the light, those above could clearly see those below, wandering around the platform as they gazed at the quiet beauty of the cavern.

"What do you see down there?" Called Andy in Galbadian.

"A lot of the rocksicles hanging down from the ceiling…!"

"Stalactites." Rinoa corrected.

"Stalactites. They're thin, long, and I have this immense urge to throw something at them and watch them snap!"

"Anything else?" Asked Selphie in the same language.

Zell answered her. "Yeah, there's a huge lake under here!"

"Wonder what it is, ya know." Raijin wondered only loud enough for Zell to hear.

"Don't know…you touch it." Zell dared.

,br 

"No, you touch it."

"No, you touch it."

"No, you touch it."

"No, you touch it."

"No, you touch it."

"No, you touch it."

The single, four word debate continued, even as Angelo barked excitedly from above. There had been so many strange smells in the place that she had lost track of her mistress. But, she found her, and leaped downwards, nearly landing on Fujin. She stopped her prancing, perking her nose upwards as she caught the scent of something, something she hadn't seen for awhile.

She barked a few times as if to tell everybody she found something, and then ran for the edge.

Rinoa was a little unnerved to see her beloved dog heading straight for something they knew absolutely nothing about. "Angelo, heal!" But the dog wouldn't listen, and dove right off the edge, splashing freestyle into the lake.

Seven people were right by the edge to see what was to happen. Thankfully, Angelo was alright, splashing in the liquid and dog-paddling her way around. Swimming near enough in sight, she climbed onto what looked like some sort of flattened grate that dipped into the lake. Climbing onto the grate, she shook herself dry before she dipped her muzzle in and began to drink.

"IT'S WATER!" Fujin remarked a little disbelieving.

"It is?" Seifer asked, standing up and getting behind Zell. He flipped the still kneeling boy over the edge. Zell protested as he felt himself falling in, splashing into the water back first.

Everyone laughed at Zell as he gave Seifer a very nasty look, but none more then Seifer himself.

"Almasy, you bastard!" He cursed while treading water.

Selphie shouted down to them, worried at what she heard. "What's going on down there?"

Rinoa got up, looking upwards at Selphie through the hole. "Seifer just tossed Zell into the water!" She couldn't hold back her chuckles.

"Really?" Spontaneously, she jumped down five or so meters to the platform, landing right in front of Rinoa. "What did he look like?"

"…Wet."

"Why the hell did you do that Tilmitt?" Quistis shouted angrily down at her. "How are we supposed to get you up now?!"

"Don't think we have to worry about that!" Reassured Rinoa, holding her lantern up to look around the cavern again. She could see the glinting of another grate in the rock near them. Heading upwards, she could make out the supports of a catwalk. They looked in rough shape, but they would do.

"There looks to be some kind of catwalk on the other side! We just have to swim a few feet to it!"

"Swim!" Seifer stammered. "Who said the 'S' word?"

"Rinoa." Selphie answered bluntly.

"What's wrong with swimming, might I ask?"

"Swimming…uh…nothing."

"You can't swim, can you."

Seifer looked very much ready to not answer that question, but Zell beat him to it. From down in the water, he yelled: "BASTARD! YOU WOULDN'T BE LAUGHING IF YOU WERE THE ONE IN HERE! YOU CAN'T SWIM TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!"

§

Sly halted his jogging, letting out a few cautious calls to his rider. Squall could only hear and feel the heat that came directly from in front of them. There was no need to mistake it for anything but Black Canyon: a huge, nameless canyon he had named himself when he had trekked across the barren landscape with an unconscious sorceress over his shoulders. The canyon stretched across the absolute bottom of the salt lake, seemingly separating it into north and south halves. The shallow lip started at the point where the shelf met the floor, for the first few kilometres or so was, the salty ground was made up of jagged debris and uneven floor. At an eventual point, where the canyon appears deepest, the uneven floor of the canyon was covered in tar; that was the reason he named the place 'Black Canyon'. The canyon came to a definite end days ahead of them, it spread out into an enormous basin, walling the tar all around in shear rock cliffs.

That time, when he had first pioneered to the east, he, along with the rest of his company, looked out across the mammoth pool with stunning awe. So large was the basin, that it was very hard to see the other end of it from the lip of the fjord. Bellow them, the surface of the tar had acquired a thin layer of salt, making it appear as of solid ground. But gazing close, they could see the surface still bubble, and those with their sense of smell could still smell it. It was somewhere around that fjord that they were first allowed entrance into the invisible City of Esthar. Did they build the city over the tar pit? Was the tar basin a camouflage trick? Squall never found out about either one of those questions.

He would find out about those when he got there. Where the Moomba seriously considering marching across the tar pit though? When he had come first time 'round with Zell, Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, Matron, and, of course, Rinoa, Angelo being close by, never really leaving Squall's side that whole time, it had been good fortune that the canyon was spotted high above; they had walked across the south side. It had not been at all safer. There were things in that tar pit…dead things…unholy things. Several of them had come up and attacked. Strange thing was about those undead beasts were that they did not go down like other undead monsters he had faced.

Picking up a rock, Deacon tossed it into the tar. Squall heard the organic glug the stone made as it hit the surface, and was swallowed by it.

"I fail to see why we're down here." Began Squall. "It's not like it's hard to miss the canyon." Sly jogged a few more steps closer to the tar, lowering his beak to look at the pulverized fossils closer.

Cardinal shook his foot, singed from the hot salt and scathed by the sharp rocks. She let out a low growl as she jumped up and down, still holding onto Squall's foot. Dangerous up higher.

He wriggled his foot loose, nearly threatening to fall off of Sly. "How do you know that? You get snail mail going through here?"

She whimpered a sigh, meaning that the answers were both a 'no'.

"Well I have. Damn place is alive with the dead here, like some curse was laid down on this place. This canyon is suspicious enough. Not enough seismic activity in this area to produce a gorge like this one."

Cardinal shook his foot again, egging him to rethink their motives. Squall tried to put what she said into a reason. Getting to a point, he found something didn't add right to both sides.

"_Damn place is alive with the dead here, like some curse was laid down on this place."_ There! He saw it there. The old Moomba lore and history came back to him, and he understood what Cardinal was getting at.

"It's because the lake drained, isn't it? Whatever died here is still pissed enough to attack the living." The Moomba theory of walking dead was that the dead walked not for fame, fortune, or power, but would walk if they were wronged, or waiting.

Getting back to the immediate subject; "why the tar pit."

"_They'll come after you if you show your face."_ Cloak hissed to him. "_You tread upon sacred ground before. They won't be so lenient the next time you show your frail blind carcass around."_ Well, Cloak sure had a way with words.

_But why the fucking tar pits?_

"_You know where tar comes from. Old bones. Real old bones. This shit runs straight across this bleached bitch. Give it a glance."_

_Give it a glance. Give it a glance…_ It was kind of hard to do that without any eyesight. What was the next best thing? The casting of the scan, only trick was to hit the right object. The tar, being the noisiest thing around, helped.

As Sly backed off from the tar, Squall pulled on his reins to keep him steady. Fallowing his ears, he picked out the pit: "_Gjar_" Scan.

His aim was true, and he caught the tar. The black substance was made up of all kinds of fossils, from all kinds of species, but mostly from fish, echinoderms, molluscs, and aquatic arthropods. Many of which, had no name to them. The age the _gjar_ gave him was around several million years old, reading around the beginning of the Cretaceous. But he knew that not to be true, scan could be off by years, centuries, millennia, and even whole eras. The Principle of Displaced Time was used for scans that were not nearly as accurate as carbon dating. Taking this principle into account, he could surmise that the tar was older, much older; Permian older, around when there was still water in that lake. That meant that the tar pits were a remnant of the lake as it once was. 'A crown jewel of a kingdom' one might say.

Cardinal had taken his hand in her paw, shaking it. She tugged forward, indicating that he should dismount Sly. His tactic for dismounting was not very graceful, so halfway off he simply fell down. Needless to say, falling off a full-grown chocobo onto hard, salty ground was not comfortable.

The Shemoomba helped him up; regardless that he refused help anyway. Once standing, his head swam with a torrent of nausea and dizziness, nearly tossing him off balance. The wounded shin, which had an extended time of rest, had the right of mind to feel like it was dislocated as soon as he put pressure on it. Finally, he just succumbed to falling on his knees, head lowered since the constant pounding at the back of his skull made looking upwards tough.

Cardinal got beside him, squeaking out her concerns.

"Not to worry." Squall croaked lazily. "Besides the damn headache, the swirling nausea, horrible balance, my sudden need to upchuck my guts, and my goddamn trick leg acting up on me, I'm peachy!" His general tone of voice was enough to make her flinch, even though he knew she would startle her, he did not apologize.

"_You knew they would eventually get you off that bird, now didn't you?"_ Squawked Cloak. "_Can't have a decent leg up with these beasts. You know why? They need that bird for something else."_

"How do you know that?"

"_You know that, too. Think it through."_ Her squawking voice held contempt between its morose wisdom. Squall thought about that; Cloak knew everything he did, and didn't, at least according to her. They needed Sly for something else, for what…

"_SHADOWED!"_ Shouted Cloak. "_AWAY TO FORTH! BY MOOMBAS COLLECTING FIRST THEIR DESERTION!"_

"_Ærskirtor!_" Freakn' Hell! He shouted in alarm, head shot upwards despite the pain her received. Slicker and faster then Cardinal could foretell; Squall had scrambled into a hunched over run, heading directly for the other two Moomba with little worry of falling into something he shouldn't.

Surprised at first, both Bishop and Deacon became warily alarmed when he ran up to them with a horrid scowl. Deacon held onto Sly's reins, but the chocobo only looked out towards the tar pit.

"Let go of him!" Shouted Squall. "LET GO OF HIM!" He charged directly for Deacon, and the Moomba stood speechless at the sight of his aim.

"_There he is!"_ Cloak directed. "_GET HIM AWAY FROM THAT BIRD!"_ He shot his hand forward, grabbing hold of Deacon's fuzzy wrist. The Moomba was stunned at the act, but started to bat Squall's frantic hands away.

"You're not going to throw him in!" Squall shouted back, his wild grabbing attempt thwarted. "Don't think you can sacrifice Sly!"

Both Deacon and Bishop hadn't a clue what he was getting at. They wanted to see if Sly could manage the steep ledges that lined the cliffs, getting Squall away only because they were afraid of him falling in. Where did he get the idea they were going to sacrifice Sly to satisfy the dead? True to it was that Shumi line ethics did include the respecting and honouring of the dead, but sacrifice?

Squall thrust his open hand to grab the reins again, but with no one guiding him, he missed completely. That action forced Bishop and Deacon to try to get him to hold still as he fumbled for the reins, getting on his knees and ferociously attacking the ground.

"Sly?! Sly?! WHERE ARE YOU?! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Though Deacon grabbed his hands, trying to get them behind his back, they proved to be very slippery, always getting back to fumbling around in the salt again. His urgent screams picked up as Bishop tried to pull him away. Cardinal got in and helped to calm Squall down by trying to hold his head still in her arms. Continuously, she spoke a stream of reassuring squeaks to him, but to no use.

"SLY! COME BACK!" Tears were only but floundering at his eyes. Welling out further, they dripped from his eyes as he wriggled and yelled out towards the bird; the salt absorbing them as they hit the ground.

Only then did that bird take notice. Standing in front of the tar pit, he turned his neck around, looking directly at Squall. He croaked a small note of curiosity as he moved his huge clawed feet away from the pit. Plodding towards the boy, he nudged him compassionately with his beak. Squall stopped his racket; his struggling. The Moomba let him go, and he slumped back on his knees. Only held up by his shaking hands, Squall had no idea how much energy he had used up in his rampage. Completely worn out, he fell onto his side, not caring that the salty sand was hot and uncomfortable. At least Sly was all right. Closing his eyes wearily, he fell asleep.

All three Moomba looked towards each other; for a solution, for council, for any hint of what was happening! His outburst had forced them into more tight a corner then before. The Black Canyon stretched on for days more. If another of those unpredictable tantrums hit again, he would fall into the tar, or worse; bring them all down! Walking along the cliff was not a safe option in the least. There were…things…that patrolled that area, waiting to pick off anyone who would dare believe it was safer to travel the cliffs.

The enigmatic two suns still held in the hazy sky. There was time yet to think. The Undead only came out at night.

In front of the sleeping boy, Sly tucked his feet under his feathery yellow belly, warking a couple of times quietly. The chocobo looked into the eyes of the Moomba, as if he knew exactly what troubled them.


	4. The Wayward

4

The Wayward

Into the classroom Nida walked, no need to slink along, classrooms were open all the time during the day unless an instructor was in doing some grading or the like.

Those large, annoying consoles, he strode towards, turning on one of the computers in the back. Getting onto the main page, he entered into a private link, reserved for each student to take notes. He opened his note page and began to type.

By the time you read this, I will own you. What is my name? For security reasons, I cannot say, also, I don't know how to spell it in this Alcauldian script; your written screed is much more complex then the simplicity of my own superior code.

I demand no money for your pitiful currency is useless to me. All I demand is your complete cooperation for my experiment. Regardless of your decision to comply, you will be subject to research and processing. Know this, that those who do cooperate will have the chance to experience a whole new mind and feeling then is possible by your primitive species. Failure to comply will result in loosing their freedom.

The sorceress was only just a prelude to the enemy you will face. The rewards for joining my army will be great, both materially, emotionally, credentially, and mentally.

As you may have already known, there was a campaign recently against a sorceress beyond boundaries that were not meant to be crossed. When this boundary was crossed, it created a catastrophic glitch in time, space, and reality known only as the Wayward. Left unchecked, the Wayward is a freakishly deadly foe even more so then a thousand sorceresses. Fortunately, like the sorceress, this power can be harnessed. The harnessing of this power will open untold opportunities, and I gladly invite all of you to join me! Though, defeating the Wayward with only your primitive weapons, your magic and Guardian Forces alone will not catch it, that's why your cooperation will be appreciated for the perfection of an ideal, Wayward catching army. Oblige to this message and you will be gods, and share in the spoils. Deny it, and your god cannot help you!

As Nida finished his typing, he hoped his message was convincing enough. Popping in a disk to the drive, he saved the file. Ejecting the burnt disk, he made for his own dorm.

The place had become a mess over time, and was pilled up with books about history, economics, global geography, seismology, global political history, and a few comic strip books. Crouching down, he filed through the mess under his bed, finally emerging with a cardboard box in tow. He set the box down on his desk, opened it, and took out something that looked like a square lens. Turning on his desk computer, he put his disk in the drive and opened the file. Onscreen, he moved the arrow shaped cursor to an unusual menu item entitled convert. Clicking it, a message box popped up and demanded three passwords, Nida typed in all of them. The message box informed him the codes were accepted. The screen went blank for a second, showing only a hallow bar. A number was over the bar that started at zero. As the numbers climbed higher, the hallow bar filled with white.

The process took quite awhile, well over an hour to be exact. When it finally reached one hundred percent, a dinging sound chimed from his onboard speaker, informing him that the loading process was complete. Nida but down the comic strip he was reading. He stared at an interface window that had completely changed from the standard Garden one. The window was completely white; a boarder of solid black was around it. In the middle of the screen was some sort of arrowhead pointing upwards. Lined on the right of it were three words reading: _Tointai, Gwellain,_ and _Salsaed,_ all written in Alcaudian script. On the left were three words written: _Dwaemraik, Ktnaahl,_ and _Oes_. The cursor had remained its arrow shape, but had become black with a green outline.

He clicked on the word _Ktnaahl_. Up popped another message box, written also in Alcaudian script, but in another strange language quite alien to the island. On it were four boxes with the words: _Mae, Smaan, Duhas_, and _Liim_. He clicked on the box reading _Mae_. A scroll box listing all sorts of files was shown before him. He scrolled down till he found the drive that held his burnt disk. Clicking on it, he was shown his recent file. Upon opening it, he was graced with a typed window of the document.

The computer sat there for a second while he fished through the cardboard box again. That time, he took out another disk, only it was completely blue, and it had no hole in the middle. He ejected the other disk from the drive and put that one in. Getting back to his computer, he touched an option on the menu bar, opening up a smaller menu. He clicked on the option _nois_. The computer made a squealing buzzing noise for a second before another message box appeared, still written in that odd tongue. A click on the only button available, all the windows were closed, sending him right back to the start page with the arrowhead on it.

Nida clicked the word _Oes_, and the screen went blank again with the same loading bar. Only instead of filling up, the white receded. He ejected the disk, grabbing the small square lens. He snapped the lens into a small, black frame and stepped to the window. Opening the Venetian blinds, he held the blue disk up, reflecting the evening sunlight. He centred the framed lens in front of the reflected light, adjusting the distance between that and the disk until the beam of light was close to a pinpoint. With his index finger, Nida pressed a small button on the black frame. The lens dulled in colour for a second, then turned yellow.

The lens was set. All he had to do then was wait for the sun to set, and for every student and staff member to retire for the night. If not all, then at least most.

Currently, the Garden docked somewhere in the Great Plains of Galbadia, somewhere near Timber. When he had heard of the blunder with Squall, he had sent Dina out for reinforcements. He never really trusted that guy from day one. He was odd; more then odd; he had all the makings of a psycho. When he finally did snap and take it all out on the Headmaster, he knew it was time to tie him down. Though his experience on the battle field was lax compared to those of his fellow SeeD initiatives, he knew enough from business that a psychotic rival on the loose meant a wrench in the tool box just waiting to get stuck in the engine. In a way, it was a most welcome act for him. He knew the Kramers. He knew their history. They were like him: not human. They were descendents of wealthy colonists who came to the planet centuries ago. They had disguised themselves well, fitting in with the human species, behaving as if there was nothing different about them. At first, their ancestors settled so they could keep tabs on their old, old, very old investment. The planet had been in his people's sights for millions of years for one reason: a solid resource so plentiful on that world, so abundant, it would pass off as renewable as sunlight, but was in such rare quantities on his own world. They called it Echo Sludge. That amazing substance was the source of every trickle of magic on the planet. The sorceress's bones were composed of the stuff in the form of Echo Crystals. It welled up in small pools known as Draw Pools, or Draw Points, as he had come to call it at Garden. It was in the marrow of monsters in the form of Echo Paste. It took the form of the mysterious Guardian Forces in what he called Echo Ether. And it created the various forms of magic. For paramagic, there were three types: Offensive, or Echo Snap, Regenerative, or Echo Warp, and Indirect, or Echo Twist. True magic, he called Echo Vapour. The Kramers had even experimented with Echo Sludge, fusing it with human DNA to see what would happen. There were no physical effects, but the mental powers of each individual were greatly increased, and came in such variety. They called them: Echo Hosts.

Then it happened, the Kramers turned traitor to their cause, taking the side of the natives, destroying the family trees of the Echo Hosts, and wiping out their footsteps. Since only a couple decades ago, they had lost all contact with their ancient investment. That was, until Nida and his Mother came back.

They had come to that planet for one reason, but Nida had found another reason very soon. The Wayward, they called it. A phenomenon with no purpose, no explanation, taken physical form eventually. The power of such a being was unfathomable at best; every Wayward was different, created from a different phenomenon, with a different manifestation, and different power. It was also surmised that the Wayward would have very little, or no control over their own powers. It was no theory; his people had attempted to catch a Wayward three other times. The ancient records of survivors described the fight with the Wayward as: 'inconceivable', 'god fearing', 'freakishly random', and surprisingly, 'terrible to both parties'. What else made the Wayward so terrible and enigmatic a being was what it was physically. They never got a live specimen, but none was needed to know that they were creatures not of their universe. How it happened, they did not know, but the Wayward took on properties completely alien to the very definition of 'life form'. It was what they called a psuedobiogen, creatures that fallowed not only a completely different rule of biology, but of physics. As a result, they were not 'alive', nor were they 'non living', just 'functioning', creatures from inside a black hole. His people and the psuedobiogens had not had the best relationships. It had started back at the time when they were experimenting with wormholes. They had gotten past the event horizon of a black hole, thinking there was nothing there; they took a few recorded images. A few days later, an enemy that they could not defend from attacked them. It was later discovered that their recording technology converted to some sort of beam, destroying property and psuedobiogens on a course that took multiple light years, and detours. The act was labelled hostile; they attacked them, and the rest was history. That was also the time they discovered Echo Sludge, residue left over from their decayed bodies. Why had Echo Sludge only have come to them from an ultra alien line, yet the planet he was currently on had such a concentrated amount?

Did it have something to do with the being the natives called Sorceress? Though the Sorceress remained biologically organic beings, they had the Echo properties of magic at their beck and call, somewhat like a pseudobiogen in an organic suit. There had been many stories of the Sorceress told throughout the planet's history, but many were vague legends with rusted specks of truth that could no longer be proved. And the most recent documents had barely any information that Nida wanted. He had been stark lucky that he was given access to the most outlandish tale of a sorceress so powerful, she was able to crush boundaries guarded by solid physics and manipulate universal order. An act like that was enough to create a Wayward, and it would be on the planet it happened! Though, he couldn't subside that nagging itch that the existence of such Echo manipulators, vermin being shot forth from the moon, pools of pure power, and the fact that the very planet had conceived four prior Waywards, were all connected.

A scientist, he was not. A theory of the existence of a Wayward was not to be taken lightly, but he was sure that putting everything together would prove his point. On his desk was a paperback book entitled, Dr. Odine's: Wildest Theories by the Craziest People. He would be after the author soon.

_Dr. Odine. I can't wait to meet you._

That very thought echoed past as if he had said it out loud. It seeped through the walls like radio waves, it flew on the sunset air like a bird, bursting like an atom bomb, radiating that one thought throughout the globe, over sees, train tracks, badlands, salt flats, a canyon flooded with tar┘

_"Dr. Odine. I can't wait to meet you."_

Squall shot his head up when the thought inserted itself. Had it been Cloak telling him something. The message had no voice printed to it, still, there was a name attached to it; if not a face then a name. What was that name? What was Cloak getting at? Or was it Strychnine? The voice was much calmer then that of the blackened apparition, but Strychnine sounded much more innocent.

They had ran out of ideas before they even thought of them. It was cross the Black Canyon, or die. Bishop walked in front, keeping slow steps and downward glances. The tar bubbled and steamed viciously like soup forgotten on the stove. Sly walked behind him, placing one foot gingerly in front of him, keeping his balance and Squall's. The boy had his arms wrapped tightly around the bird's neck, tightening his grip when he had heard the strange message. 

"Sly," He began in a shaking whisper. "Is that you?"

Already, the chocobo had proved beyond a doubt that he was no chocobo, or, at least no ordinary chocobo. Then, what was he?

Cardinal walked behind next, keeping an extra eye out for Squall to make sure he didn't either slip, or hint at any spell. Deacon was right behind her, acting much more anxious, wanting to get past the horrible smelling Canyon of Scalding Death. Was it his imagination, or did the tar just attempt to squirm up the side of the canyon? The fumes were probably getting to him.

A huge air bubble manifested itself, reaching two meters in height, and two hundred and some litres before popping. The searing black slime sprayed all over the canyon, hitting Deacon in the eye, Sly was sprayed in the leg and wing, and Squall was hit on his shoulder.

_"They found us!"_ Cloak shouted. Immediately, he snapped at attention, looking towards the direction the tar hit him. Every drop of tar the bubble had sprayed started to grow; spreading like a culture of algae until the culture grew dark veins that meandered outward. The spot that got on Deacon's eye began to grow. In a panic, he tried to claw at the dark ooze as it grew and burned his delicate cornea. The tar that splashed on Sly was growing as well, even the speck that got on Squall. He felt the burning grow around him as the tar spread, warping itself around his arm. He clutched the bulging tar bubble with his free hand, yanking off a fair portion of it. In his hand, he squeezed it and sloshed it through his fingers. It started to grow on his hand as well, completely coving it in scalding black. The tar that ran between his fingers lapped out towards each other, creating filmy black webs.

The feeling of the tar engulfing both his left arm and his right shoulder was disturbing and morbidly hot, he could hear the tar bubble and sizzle as it crept around him, boring into sensitive skin. He grabbed a handful of tar with his partially broiled left hand, only to have it engulf it as well. Though Squall was concerned it would grow until it smothered him, he did not foresee what was to happen next. The greasy veins that grew out of the sludge on the canyon wall stopped radiating outwards, and grew towards a definite destination: upwards. Shooting past the wall, the slippery vines of black curled tightly around Squall's ankle, yanking him off Sly, and towards the canyon bottom. He thought something was wrong when he felt the tar slap and curl around his bony ankle, but none more so then when he was yanked off of his steed, hitting the boiling surface quite forcefully.

Cardinal squeaked with high concern, warning the other two of what had happened. Bishop looked downwards, trying to think of how he could retrieve Squall from the oozing maw.

For someone who barely knew how to swim, water was frightening enough. The tar was much thicker then water, and Squall found it exceedingly hard to move. He tried to find his way to the canyon wall, hoping he could hold onto something, but the tar was much too viscous to treed anything. The scalding heat dug into his flesh, a stark contrast to the freezing mud in the jungle. Though he was only caught then in mud, he knew he would sink all the way to the bottom that time. He could hear the cries of the three Moomba, and the squawks from Sly, in vain, trying to find a way to free him. He kept his head up as best he could, listening to the distant squalor even as he submerged completely in the tar. The searing heat that attacked irked and tormented him more then what he could say. It filled every orifice on his body, sliding down his throat with a bitter taste that would have choked him long before the lack of air did. Though blind he was, both by tar and blister, he saw something. Something faint; and green.

_"VΞÞOΔ!"_ Cloak shouted.

It was awful for her, Cardinal cried as she saw Squall sink below the tar, yowling as Bishop shook his head sadly. Deacon tried to comfort Cardinal. Sly continued to look down, warking as he saw the patch where Squall sank gather a huge bubble, about three meters in diameter, popping like some sort of geyser. The spraying tar hit the tar from the offending bubble head on, causing it to dissolve. It hit the growing black patch on Deacon's eye. The waxing filth melted right off, but the poor Moomba had already lost his eye to it.

From the receding ripples a humped over figure emerged from the tar. A pointy snout pointed forward towards the east. It opened its mouth filled with scalpel sharp teeth, emitting a horrifying screech that caused the Moomba to grind their teeth in agitated reflex.

Strychnine snapped her jaw shut with a resounding clash that echoed off the canyon walls. The tar had dripped off her face enough to expose her bleached white skull, hanging under her jaw like some large, slimy black beard. Around her shoulders, Squall held on. He tried desperately to cough, but he could gather no air as the tar had completely closed off his throat. Gagging rather fiercely, he dug his fingers in his mouth in an attempt to shovel as much of the offending goo out of his windpipe as possible. The lack of air made it exceedingly hard to focus, and he found himself driving his hand far enough down his throat to make him gag even more. Some of the stuff dripped loose, down his throat, but it was enough to allow his hand to grab a glob of it, pulling it out, the glob leaving a sticky black trail behind it. He drew in a very deep, very raspy breath as he put his hand back on Strychnine's shoulder with a less then appealing slop. Though, he was still deathly afraid of swallowing.

The tar bubbled madly around the young Guardian Force. It seamed every bubble that popped uncovered other humped figures. Though smaller then Strychnine, they were many. The tar that hid them fell, revealing the intruders as skeletons: vicious, screeching skeletons, some with horns, some with hair, some with both, and some with no jaws. There was one with ram's horns, one with long, slimy hair that only grew from the crown of its head, another with two pairs of long gazelle horns, one had fangs and a long, thin horn sticking out of its forehead. One had an impossible mess of greasy black hair and a twisted jaw. All of them attacked Strychnine, bony claws outstretched to tear the intruder apart. Lifting her two scythes, she threw them away mercilessly, though; they would always come back up. Even those that broke upon hitting the rocky wall; would always rejoin together to attack anew.

The offensive din of the vile undead, Squall did not hear, for the tar had clogged his ears up. But Cloak, he did hear.

_"Busy little devils, eh?"_ She chirped. _"You know what I wonder? Why they went for you and not the bird. I mean, he is closer to them, and they would have got two for the price of one..."_ Squall chose to ignore, but found that his choice wasn't making much of a difference. He only came to reality when one of the skeletons grabbed his ankle. Trying to shake it free, he came fast to the conclusion the monster was much too strong, and that sticky tar didn't help. Thankfully, the creature was thrown off as Strychnine turned suddenly, warding off another hoard of the undead scourges.

She didn't know how long she could keep them at bay, the tar seamed to revitalize them. One skeleton, that one with elk antlers, did not attack physically, but hit Strychnine with a spell known as demi. Squall could not hear the screeching of compressing and inflating bones as the demi shrunk and stretched Strychnine's bony head. The Guardian Force screeched again as Squall held out his hand, seemingly trying to touch one of the skeletons. With the aid of Strychnine's innate power, it was as if he could touch the bare essence of the monsters, and pull out a share of it. The captive magic he grabbed flew towards him in a flurry of blue sparks. He learned long ago that whatever magic made up a monster's essence was a good indicator for its nature. In the case of those skeletons, those 'necrophobians', there was only death, undead, and the mysterious demi, nothing that would make much of a dent in the population, but it was enough to tell him what he was facing.

A group of necrophobians screamed with agony as a huge ball of ice hit them from above. Strychnine looked away from the tumbling, frozen bones upwards to where Deacon was cheering. The other necrophobians looked upwards as well, many of which, started to scale the walls.

_Oh tripe._ Thought Deacon as his only remaining eye saw the undead clamber up towards them. Strychnine tried to help by batting them off the rock with her scythes, but the necrophobians were more attentive to the higher altitudes. While the youngest Moomba panicked, Bishop squeaked a distinct sound, throwing a brightly glowing ball of purity and light that sleuthed a clear path down to the tar once more. The necrophobians kept on coming, and soon the clear path Bishop paved was infested again. Cardinal raised her paw, she looked down at the approaching undead with a red violet twinkle in her left eye, and a white one in her right. Flinging her raised paw at the monsters, a powerful beam of white light shot downwards with the motion, zapping any necrophobians near it with white shots of electricity. Those hit fell down to the liquefied fossils they came from. The beam fizzled out, replaced by a white crane with a golden beak, six eyes, and each one a different colour on the rainbow spectrum. Its long legs were a shiny blue that dipped below the tar's surface. It stretched out its pure, white wings to reveal the underside as the colour of an inky midnight. From those infinite depths appeared a cat's eye, one under each wing. The left eye was red, the right was blue.

Strychnine turned around to stare at the glowing Guardian Force, the crane looked like a face, with no mouth.

The eyes under the wings began to glow fierce. The necrophobians in front of their stare were knocked aside by an invisible force that let itself by known by a spark of white as one of the monsters were hit. That was Wasis; Cardinal's crane Guardian Force, the perfect offence against anything undead. Wasis had served her for many a year, but he was not destroying their foe. The necrophobians would come back up, completely revived. Eventually, they got wise to Wasis' purifying stare, jumping onto his back and clawing away at his snowy white feathers. The Guardian Force squawked with unbridled pain as the monsters tore him apart. Eventually, he faded away; his twinkling white essence flew back to his furry host.

Once again, the necrophobians set their focus back on Strychnine, who was not at all thankful for them taking away her help.

_"You can't kill anything twice."_ Cloak hissed.

_Regenerative spells won't work here._ Squall countered.

_"That shit just pissed them off! Just like it pisses you off! Leave them alone, and they'll go home, waving their arms goodbye."_

_They tried to kill me!_

_"Oh, boo hoo. Cry me a river. Maybe if you stopped breathing, it would appease the bastards. What the hell did you do with that glob of tar anyway?! Huh? Shit, you even swallowed the junk and it didn't kill you! The fuckn' hell do you get off eating dead sludge...!"_

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, his voice bouncing off the rock. Everyone stopped; Strychnine, the necrophobians, Moomba, even Sly. Squall slumped forward, resting his head on Strychnine's shoulder. He had to think, how could he defend against those skeletons, blind and deaf, and listen to Cloak wail.

After a long bout of silence, the necrophobians began to scream all at once. The walls rumbled around them, loosening unsteady debris from the rock. Cardinal nearly fell off the ledge from the shock wave. When the necrophobians had stopped, a large patch of tar began to violently boil and rise. From it sprouted another undead nightmare. Its body was not but a long spine that seamed to grow out of the tar like ivy. Its chest was a solid mesh of jointed bones that made it looked like a white wicker basket. The head of the monster was that of a cat's skull. A collar of six-meter long spikes was by its head, as well as eight smaller spikes protruding from the jawbone. The eye sockets of the monster were lined with red veins, and inside them were eyes: cold, empty, bloodshot, egg white eyes, devoid of any pupil, but it stared at Strychnine with malice.

With a voice strained with death, and deeper then the very canyon, it spoke: "Give me the error."

_Error?_ Strychnine thought innocently.

_"Error?!"_ Cloak shouted angrily.

The undead serpent spoke again. "The child."

_The child?_ Wondered Strychnine, who turned her head to look at where Squall rested his head. _Does it mean Dad?_

In response, Strychnine screeched at the fiend, after which, she added. "Fuck you!" Her spoken voice radiated an echo that made the ears of the Moomba ring.

The spiked skeleton was not pleased with her response. "Then, I TAKE!" Rearing its chest, it snapped as it exploded with a shower of bone shards. The pieces that looked like weavings in a basket were actually the many arms of the creature. Ten, long, spider-like arms, each one ending in curved points. The necrophobians disappeared under the tar as it advanced forward. Hit by various spells from above, the spine tingler looked up at the offending Moomba and their squawking friend. It paid them no mind, its focus mainly towards Strychnine.

The Guardian Force raised her scythes, she would not let it get Squall. He, himself, took the opportunity to draw from the spine tingler's 'pool'. What was still not fully understood was the virtually limitless amount of magic one could draw from monsters, where as a person could only hold so much. That was why magic was said to 'pool', in them, less so then the Sorceress, but still there. The spine tingler had within it┘Squall pulled out a handful of the monster's pool, the magic whirled into his own being with fizzling light.

Raising her two scythes, Strychnine cleaved both of them in front of her, aiming for the flimsy spine of the creature. The monster dodged, its jaw chattered with a dry cackle. Out of its mouth flew a glowing orange ball that Strychnine dodged but nearly. A few more times, did the spine tingler shoot those large balls; never hitting their target, before it slashed at her with its clawed legs. Strychnine snapped at each one of them, but the spine tingler was determined to get what it came for. The monster shot its own face forward, burying its fangs in the bone of Strychnine's snout. The monster threw tar amok as it writhed and thrashed to Strychnine's own struggling. Finally, she threw the undead monster aside with one of her scythes, but it had already left a gouging would on her muzzle.

With the spine tingler down, she thought it best to get away from there. She turned around, but another spine tingler stopped her way.

The monster rasped in its voiceless rumble. "Failure is not a possibility." Its tucked chest was opened to show its ten legs, and it snapped at Strychnine. Though, while she kept that one at bay with her weapons, the first one had revived, and Squall was wide open. With its jaw, it grabbed Squall, but not without notice. The sticky fuel stretched as he was yanked back, snapping when the stress became too much for it. She felt the whiplash of tar when he was being yanked away, and turning around quickly, she lunged at the spine directly under the monster's legs. She snapped and gnawed at the bone as the spine tingler squirmed wildly trying to throw her off.

Squall tried to stay calm, but at the force the spine tingler was thrashing, his neck would have broke. Not distracted by sight or sound, he was quite able to get his hand between the monsters teeth. He tried to pry the maw apart, but found it futile.

As Strychnine wrestled with one, the other spine tingler leapt on her back, wrapping its legs around her torso. It bit into her shoulder, causing her to screech in agony. The resounding noise made the other monster flinch, letting go of Squall. If he were not going to drown in tar, he would almost consider it fun to be thrown up in the air like a basketball.

His Guardian Force noticed him flung into the air. The other spine tingler still held her shoulder, but she caught him regardless, catching him in the concave of her nearly skeletal tail. Carelessly, she grabbed the head that was on her shoulder, crushing the skull like an aluminum can. The bony beast shrieked in its pain as it sunk under the tar, only to resurface a few seconds later as if nothing had happened.

The first spine tingler dove to snatch Squall, still nestled in between the safe ribs of Strychnine's tail. But he was prepared that time.

"_Skæd!"_ Flare. The monster was hit in the face with a huge glowing ball of white and orange. For a few seconds, the light remained after the initial explosion, the heat of it enough to refract the light around it before it faded. The spine tingler sputtered and hissed while it shook off the vile disorienting effect of the spell. For a few seconds, it was blinded, and unable to notice that Strychnine was right in front of it, scythe raised to cleave it in half. She cut off its head before it could regain its senses. 

As the beast took a few seconds to revive, the second spine tingler shot a flare at Strychnine's back. She felt the heat of the spell wring the precious sinews under her jacket, but it was not enough to make her scream, not again.

_"They won't go down till you give them what they want!"_ Cloak yelled. "_Take control, you moron!"_

"How?!" He shouted. "HOW?!"

Fully regenerated, the first spine tingler lunged at him, but was stopped. It stared at its jaws, held open by the human it tried to grab. Through its teeth, a freezing sensation, Squall had frozen his hands to the monster's front incisors. It could pull away at any time, taking him down into the tar with it, but what was happening to it? It could not move though, its spinal cord was as frozen as its teeth!

Cloak scoffed with attitude at the action. "_Told you it was right there."_

"If you want me," Squall hissed at his attacker, "you'll have to break your back, and I don't think you want the commitment."

Since the first one was held, Strychnine was free to deal with the second one. She slashed at that monster with her weapons. Many of the slashes hit, but the spine tingler would always even the score out. With enough of slashing, she held her scythes in her mouth and grabbed two of the spine tingler's legs, ripping them off like an old billboard notice. The monster screamed, but not as much as when its skull was crushed, so it went right back to snapping at Strychnine. As she tried to get in to grab more legs, the spine tingler locked its jaw on her wrist. She screamed indeed, but held enough composure that time to grab its brittle neck and snap it.

It did not scream; just dropped onto the tar and sank. Was that their weakness? She had cut the other one's head off, didn't that count? Hoping that she had found a way to beat the enemy, she turned around to where Squall held the other one by its mouth. She wrapped her hand around its neck; her long thumb circling the spine nearly twice, and squeezed.

It wasn't even much of a squeeze, the necks were just as dry leaves under a shoe. The spine tingler dropped into the tar harmlessly, the skull still stuck to Squall. It was a mystery to him as to why the skull he held suddenly felt lighter. He lifted it over his head easily, and Strychnine took it, the connecting ice shattering easily for her. She crushed the bone in her hand, the shards falling onto the boiling cauldron and sinking below it slowly.

Cheers rang from above, it was apparent from the beginning that the skeletal, scythe wielding lamia was on their side, and she had rid the immediate vicinity of their foe. Squall did not know it, he could not see it, and he could not hear it. It had been hard enough to loose his sight, was he to never have his hearing back again? He tried to stand up on his Guardian Force's spine, but the tar was much too slippery to get a grip. He was getting dizzy, very dizzy. The tar fumes were getting to him.

Strychnine looked down at the nestled, squirming black mess that lashed around inside the cage of her tail, then fall still. With a spindly long finger, she prodded Squall; both with curiosity and concern.

_Dad?_ He wasn't moving, and she was very afraid that he was dead. The Moomba noticed as well, they also noticed the other spine tingler rise from the tar once more, stretching its legs wide, the tar dripping down between the appendages. As it opened its mouth, ready to hit Strychnine with a flaring shot, she swerved around, breaking its neck in her grip. The spine tingler fell back into the pit, but its skull remained behind, caught by the Guardian Force. She looked at the skull one last time before she crushed it.

§

So Seifer proved he couldn't swim. The fact that he tried so hard to hide that fact; then fail miserably when he actually got into the water proved as much.

The catwalk was more dangerous then let on at first glance. Several times, the grating broke, dropping several of them into the water. Though it was not a long drop, it was still hard to get them back up; they had only to construct a rope of themselves, but several of them were less then willing to do so.

Down the rickety walkway they marched, hour upon hour, with no real way of telling the time. Rocky wall to their right, broken and rusting railing of metal that dropped to dark water to the left. Rinoa lead the way, the lantern held up in front of her to lend light before them. The darkness around stretched, boasting the enormous width of the cavern. When was it exactly, that they all began to see huge pillars of metal behind the stalactites? Some were in rough shape, with more gouges in them. One, which was slashed right open, had their innards exposed to the eyes. Made up of wires, which were torn and even smaller pipes; it was clear they were not silos.

It was when they started to get the complaints again: "I'm tired", "my feet hurt", "I think I've dislocated my ankle", "we're going around in circles", "Zell won't shut up about his damn feet" and so forth, that they took another short break. There was blood spattered on the catwalk, but human bones weren't the only ones there. They were not monster bones at all, for all monsters, excluding the undead, had black bones. Scanning them with stored magic, they read as unidentified, but were as old as the human bones.

"Think they're Shumi, or moombas?" Inquired Irvine. "I mean, Moomba."

The question exasperated Quistis, who discarded a held bone shard away. "If they were, we could identify them. Now couldn't we."

"Woah there." Started Irvine with his hands up in front of him. "I want no trouble here. Just asking."

"Yeah, sure." It had been a long walk in dim light and whining company. Quistis didn't feel much like explaining anything. Well aware, many others felt the same way. Seifer went off like a beeping carbon monoxide detector. Zell had fallen in the water at several intervals because of this; and so had Irvine, Selphie, Fujin, Raijin, Watts, Red Hawk, Cody, Seth, Rinoa, Andy, Spytz, Keith, and Lucky; well, all of the Forest Owls went in at least twice. She was, as of yet, the only one not shoved in. Zell had dealt a few black eyes, and got one himself when he tried to deck Rinoa. Watts complained to a new decibel that threatened to bring down whatever ancient compound they were in. Crane kept wandering off from the group, nearly drowning in the process. Raijin wasn't speaking. Rinoa constantly snapped at people, telling everyone that their predicament was their fault. Lucky was showing off his extensive Mainstream Cuss vocabulary that Jenner picked up fast. Death threats became anonymous, but common. All logical. They were all hungry, tired, and had absolutely no idea if they were going to see the light of day.

"Dammit!" Seifer shouted. "I'm hungry. Lets stop and fry up that mutt."

Even from her point up front, Rinoa barrelled her way through the crowd to protect her faithful dog. Holding her tightly to her chest, the girl glared at Seifer hatefully.

He acted as if he said nothing wrong. "What?! You wanna starve? Fine!"

"You're not eating Angelo!"

"Well, fine then! Let's eat What's His Face, with the red hat and vest!"

"Hell no! Why don't we eat Raijin! He's got more meat!" Raijin looked relatively confused. What meat were they talking about? He had no food on him.

Quistis jumped in to prevent a fight. "No one's going cannibal!"

"Then tell that to Almasy!" Rinoa shouted at her.

"He knows what I said!"

"Don't act like I'm not here!" Seifer shouted back.

It was Quistis' turn to look at him sourly. "Then you stop acting like a barbaric jackass!" She had had enough of the whining. Was it too much of her to demand some order? "You didn't have to suggest we eat Angelo in the first place!"

That fight got everyone yelling, exhaustion and hunger making them all ornery and eager to place the blame on someone else so they didn't feel guilty themselves. Angelo began barking through the ruckus, but it wasn't at them. She had smelled something with her keen nose, something in the water. For the starting moment, everyone was ready to explode at the poor dog, until they saw what she was barking at. Rinoa rushed over to Angelo, her hand brushed over the silky coat of the animal in an attempt to quiet her, but it was no use.

There was something in the water, they could all see a shadowy hump emerge from the murky surface only to plunge back in.

"What the hell was that?" Irvine croaked, too unsettled with worry to speak loud enough.

"Maybe its something to eat." Seifer answered as softly as him.

They all jumped in surprise as the whole cavern was rocked with a sudden tremor. It had felt like that huge lump they had just seen bumped into them. The water below them started to boil, a deep growl sounded from the inky lake. Those with weapons on them readied themselves. Did they make something angry? It was very clear that there was something in the water. Zell worked up the courage to look closer, stepping lightly towards the edge of the catwalk. The water stopped boiling beneath them, and the growling ceased, though, it was hard for any of them to feel at ease.

Rinoa backed up towards the wall, for she did not feel the courage Zell had, thus, bumping into the rock unexpectedly and dropping the lantern. She cursed in Classical Galbadian at the abrupt extinguishing of the light, purging them all into complete darkness. Others were quite ready to curse at her as well, but remained quite for fear of attracting unwanted attention. Quickly, Rinoa got another lantern going. Holding the flaming ball of light in her hands, she looked up to see that everyone was looking down at her with terrified and disgusted looks.

"There...there's something behind me...isn't there." She stammered. Selphie shook her head slowly, her nunchaku poised to hit something in the gut. Indeed, there was something behind Rinoa, many things. At least a handful of the most disgusting undead beasts she had every seen. They were small, about the size of a miniature dog. Their heads were bleached white rodents skulls with a pair of long, ibex horns each. Their body resembled millipede's, dark green with rusty orange specularity, but the several dozen pairs of legs were very long, about twice as long as their horns, with maroon webs connecting each of them. Listening very closely, they could hear the subtle shloping and gloping of their slimy bodies as they moved slowly over the rock.

"What are they doing?" Asked Rinoa in a hushed voice, too scared to turn around herself.

"They're just moving on the wall." Answered Quistis, whispering like the rest of them. "Nobody make any sudden movements. They probably don't know we're here."

One of the crawling, monstrosities crawled its way up onto Watts' shoulder. Very tempted, he was, to shout and throw the hideous and horrible smelling creature off of him. He couldn't stop shaking as the creature pocked and prodded his skin with slender, slimy legs. It opened its jaw to let out a sizzling hiss, nearly causing Watts to jump. Andy and Keith congratulated him softly for not loosing it.

Seifer, however, couldn't see the reason why they should have stayed put, it made him confused and angry. The anger was enough to get him to break the silence.

"What the hell is this?!" He grabbed the small monster that was climbing up his leg and flung it over the water irrationally. "Monster's are for fighting! Not hiding!"

Quistis was about to shout; "Seifer, you moron!" when the undead monsters started to skitter in for the attack. Though, they didn't rush towards Seifer, the source of the noise, but to anybody who was near them, as if they had known they were there, they were just waiting for the right moment to strike! At once, everyone started to swat at the pests. Raijin discovered that they were very easily squished, but that they were quick enough to bite back! When they did bite, they didn't let go, Rinoa had one bite her shin, and it hurt fiercely, with searing pain radiating from the ferocious bite of the tiny monster. It wrapped its many spindly legs around her shin as it kept its jaw locked on her bone. Holding the lantern in one hand, she tried to pry the beast away with her free hand as several more were climbing up her leg. Stubborn was the monster at her shin, her prying only succeeding in tearing a bigger wound in her flesh, and not even getting the skull biter off. Another skull biter bit into her forearm. Screaming and cursing, she shook her arm wildly in hopes to fling the thing off. Rinoa couldn't take it as the skull biter's threatened to engulf her lower body. In a panic, she flung the lantern down at them, hoping to scare them off.

The biters continued, unfazed by the glowing lantern, until it exploded against the head of one of them. Immediately, the fires radiated outwards from the point of genesis, but only hurt the monsters. The rest of the group was startled and surprised when the fire came, singeing the monsters that surrounded them and had bit them. All the biters that attached themselves to the humans were dislodged, freeing their mouths only to screech. The fires abated, and the undead bugs lay all over the ground, curled up like dead spiders.

One of the biters had bitten Selphie's ear. Though, it was within her ability to heal the gaping wound, she could not replace the bit of ear that was lost, it would forever look like a rat gnawed it. Quistis used her own healing magic on herself, and several Owls. Her shirt looked torn on one shoulder, since one biter had gotten onto it. Fujin's leg was mended, but from the tears on her pants, it looked like it had been severely mangled. Both of Zells hands were still covered in his own blood. Though everyone had received some sort of wound from the bites, none had more then Seifer. Though he had healed his wounds, his blood stained clothes were torn in various places. On his left arm, the coat sleeve and shirtsleeve were nearly gnawed off! His shirt was tattered on his left. His legs looked like they had been through a bad job of dermabrasion, and his lower lip look scratched up, it would leave a scar.

"Is everyone good?" Quistis asked in Alcauldian. "No one dead?" Rinoa translated for her: "_Tetuké, paka?_"

"I think one of them bit my ass!" Complained Grouter.

"Hey, Rinoa!" Spitz began, "throwing that lantern probably left a little light around. I can see everyone!" It was true, she had noticed she could see everyone nearly as clearly as if they were on the surface. She hadn't noticed before, but the exploding lantern probably did leave behind some light.

The catwalk shook again as it had before the wave of skull biters, alerting everyone to the possibility that there was more monsters around. The water boiled again. Many got to the edge of the catwalk to look into the soup. It stilled, boiling stopped, nerves calmed down. What was down there? It seamed that the boiling coincided with something breathing.

Curious, Zell leaned over much closer, threatening to fall off. The room took on a rather pungent odour of wet earth and fish, causing many to cringe with the smell. The water boiled again, only less violent, just before a flash of dingy teal snapped out of the water, grabbing Seifer by the shirt and pulling him back in the water faster then anybody could comprehend what was happening. It was as if he was there one second, and vanished the next. Startled, all the group could do was look as he hit the water with a hard splash, and then submerged. Angelo barked at the receding ripples he left behind.

"SEIFER!" Shouted Rinoa, hardly believing what she saw.

"Freaking hell!" Irvine shouted. "What in Hyne's name was that tarp?!"

Unknowingly, Quistis answered him, still frantic. "I don't know! It looked like a tongue!"

"It's a monster!" Zell piped up, sounding rather excited. "Lets zap that bastard with a good dose of vitamin T!"

Rinoa grabbed Zell's 'casting' arm to stop him. "Don't! You could fry Seifer along with it! She looked up at him with teary eyes, feeling quite helpless at the moment.

"Oh," Zell recalled, "well then, I should get Quezacotl...!"

"NO!" Everyone, apparently, was unanimously against Zell. As they argued against the clock what to do, despite the best intentions for Seifer. Bellow, he continued to be pulled under. Concerned for his convenience of air, he would tug at the sticky appendage that stuck to his shirt. It would have been easier for him to just wriggle out of his shirt, but with the lack of air, his mind was racing a freeway unhindered by any speed limit. Not thinking clearly, he started to hack at the slippery teal rope with Perish. Brain going insane from lack of air, he did not take notice, nor even remember that Perish didn't really cut well in his possession.

Three lights of pale green shone in front of him, and as he was pulled closer, he could see two huge black disks between the lights, two rows of slim, pointed steaks, numerous in number, the top pointing downwards, and the bottom row pointing upwards, just like┘

_TEETH!_ It was the beast's tongue he was stuck too, and it was going to have him for dinner! Flailing with frantic panic, his stored breath finally running out, Seifer began to loose it. His mouth opened on impulse to breath, but swallowed nothing but water; cold, dingy, horrid water.

His mind raved. _BAHAMUT!! YOU BASTARD!! IF YOU WERE EVER GOING TO DO SOMETHING FOR ME, DO IT NOW!!_

_"Why should I spare an ungrateful hypocrite like yourself? You're death means nothing to me. Drown."_

_WHAT PISS ASS KING ARE YOU?!!_

Seifer heard the dragon roar deep within his head before he entered a state of dizzying euphoria. The glow from the predator became much larger, more blurry, and brighter. The huge maw before him seamed so unreal, like a dream. Was that how death came about? A dizzying delirium of such light and unreal senses to calm the soul before it moved on?

As his inborn nature dictated, he felt one last urge to get revenge on his predator. His hand, he raised over his head. The light from the surface shone brightly on him as he lifted a limb that looked so huge in his disoriented state. He brought it down on the reeling tongue of the monster, slashing it in half. The predator screeched with the sudden agony and loss of its dinner. With his new freedom, Seifer felt himself floating upwards, looking up at the glowing surface of the water.

From above, the whole group stopped their restless debate as dark water broke with a tremendous splash. There was the flap of huge blue dragon wings before they disintegrated into nothing. As the splash receded, there was Seifer, his bust clearly bobbing above the surface, his lower body still weighed down by the mutilated tongue. He looked unconscious.

To his rescue, Raijin came, diving into the water after him. He grabbed his hero with one arm and swam back. Fujin, Rinoa, Quistis, Spitz, Andy, and Grouter lifted Seifer up as he was handed to him. They dropped him onto his back, seeing that he still held Perish in his left hand, the tongue was still attached to his shirt, and he wasn't breathing.

"He's not breathing!" Quistis stated the obvious.

"Well I'm, like, not doing anything about it." Irvine scoffed. "I might break his ribs." He explained sarcastically, as a certain irritated Squall had said.

"I'll help him." Selphie started cheerfully. Quistis got out of the way as she ran up, jumping feet first onto Seifer's stomach. He spit out a fountain of water instantly with the added pressure. Free of any obstructions, he coughed and wheezed as he sucked in necessary air.

_Dear God,_ sighed Quistis as she rested her forehead on her hand in irritation. _Do I know anyone who knows how to perform CPR?_

"You...!" Seifer shouted at Selphie between coughs. "Last name please." He asked less annoyed.

"Tilmitt." She answered.

"...Tilmitt! What kind of stupid, moron first aid was that?!"

"The kind that saved your life." She giggled, amused by Seifer's reaction.

Startling everyone, Watts began to shout in Mainstream. :"It's not safe here! We can't even see what's attacking us...!" He ran over to Rinoa and grabbed onto her like some life preserver. "You can teleport! I know you can! Get us out of here!"

She shoved him aside irksomely. "I can only teleport myself without turning anyone inside out, or getting them stuck in some cockamamie space/time continuum! Remember what happened to Aud?"

Curious, Zell stuck his nose into the conversation. "Yo, what's this all about?! Did Watts get bitten again?!"

"No." Rinoa answered in Balambese. "He wanted me to 'whisk' all of us away from here." She held a sarcastic note to her tone, indicating how she was not ready to do so.

"That's right," started Seifer with his own sarcasm, "you're a sorceress." He dropped his sarcastic look of relief for a scowl. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I WAS DROWNING?!"

Rinoa didn't falter once at his shouting, but yelled back. "I'M NOT VERY GOOD AT UNDERWATER FIGHTS, OKAY!"

"No fighting!" Quistis jumped in. "Watts has a point. You could move to Esthar and tell someone we're here."

"Or if you can't do that," Zell continued, "you can at least get us some grub. I could eat wood shavings about now."

_I bet you could eat a whole wooden hutch._ Scoffed Seifer. He looked over to Raijin, who was standing right beside him with his usual clueless look. _And I think you have no objections either._

Translating the idea into Mainstream for the Owls, they liked the idea very much so. Finally, there was hope among them. The company cheered her on even as she disappeared into nothing, entering that place she liked to call the glass universe. The place was named so because of its shimmering refraction of the world of images. Like tiles in a sliding puzzle, she was able to move about to view every destination, every option open to her. There was a limit, of course, to just how far she could travel in one burst. The floating among the frictionless space felt like a thrill ride at an amusement part, but she was very aware that time did not move in that glass universe. She played around a bit, whirling around and doing summersaults, taking her time in finding where she wanted to go. Finally, she found it: Esthar, or more specifically, a very clean, high-tech looking dumpster. Getting into the glass universe, she found easy, the getting out was a bit of a task. To that point, she found it rather hard to get past glass, or whatever that refraction was, or even catch up to it, so she found it very easy to zoom at it blindly like an arrow. Easy enough, it was, to increase her speed in that place. Aiming herself at the dumpster, she closed her eyes and shot off at high velocity, not stopping until her head made a sudden and violent impact with something hard. She fell down flat on her stomach.

Rubbing her head, she looked up to see the shining dumpster. She did it! Happily, she got up, doing her own little victory dance. Though, the dance came to a very dramatic halt as she looked around, up at the signs of all the shops, on the shining glass streets, the voices around her, the foreign dress, and remembered that she couldn't speak a word of Estharian!

§

Pain was the first thing he noticed, excruciating pain in his head, a parting gift from the vile tar fumes. Something squeaked in his ear and nudged his head. He heard more squeaking as the probing hand was batted away. Gaining more sense, Squall felt him lying on his side on salt, many places on his skin felt calloused and cold, places where the tar had cooled on his flesh. He tried to open his eyes, but only one of them was able to, tar had sealed his left eye shut. Though his sight wasn't restored, his hearing was. He could hear the Moomba squeak, as well a something else.

_"We got the tar out of your ears best we could."_ He didn't catch that with his ears, it spoke in his head. But it was much too masculine to be either Cloak or Strychnine, with an accent that reminded him of the Shumi. Some of the tar had collected on the bottom of his throat, so Squall had to cough a couple of times to clear it out.

"Who said that?" He spoke, his throat dry and cracked, most likely from tar and fumes.

_"No one said anything."_ That time, it was a more feminine voice. A paw touched his face gently, causing Squall to crane his head to the left, which was actually looking up. The pain in his head made that endeavour difficult. Not only that, but his neck felt as brittle as dried clay. As soon as he turned his head, he was forced to lay it back down.

_"Did you read me?"_ The feminine voice asked him.

Strychnine spoke next. "_You did it! You read a mind clearly!"_

_Minds? Reading? When the hell did that happen?_

_"Can you get up Squall?"_ Encouraged the feminine voice again.

Who was the voice belonging to? "Cardinal?" Squall asked sceptically.

_"Yes."_ Was her answer.

Putting palms flat on the ground, Squall attempted to get up. Only had he gotten his head off the ground did his elbows crack, his right knee seemed to splinter under the pressure, his back felt like dry earth crumbling, and his head weighed him down in pain and unimaginable weight did he slump back down on his side. He felt horrible, he just wanted to lie down and die. Something bigger nudged the back of him, edging under Squall's shoulder. It propped him up between two limbs, his head lay on something warm and fleshy. He, at first, thought it was one of the Moomba helping him up, but as soon as he lay propped up against something that didn't feel very furry, but more like a large hand, he had to wonder. He hurt for awhile as he was set in between the two limbs, but the pain died down a bit as he was allowed to lay down between the two digits, It started to hurt more as he lifted his hand up to feel one of the limbs. It was warm, large scales atop the digit, and the end of it harboured something rather harder that sloped upwards, almost in a curved fashion like a claw, or a talon. He was nestled between the toes of a giant bird! As to prove him right, something large, hard, and at a slight point nuzzled his cheek, the beak of that bird. But what avian could be so large as to hold a human being between its toes? Could it be? Maybe it was. A phoenix.

"Are you," Squall stated in Alcauldian, finding it was a little hard to talk very loudly. "A phoenix?"

"Well," started the giant bird in the same language, with a voice like a wizened old man, talking much like he was surprised he was talking, "you've regained your wits fast. I was afraid those fumes would have killed your sense of reasoning. Yes, I am a phoenix, though we know ourselves by another name." He held a certain chuckle at the back of his voice, making him sound rather jolly and alive to the ears.

Squall was very ready not to believe those words. A phoenix? Those illusive birds of such beauty and grace, with so much evidence of them in the form of their down and pinions, but so few have ever seen a live one, it was even suggested that the down and pinions came from a completely different animal. What were the odds? Then again, what were the odds of time compression?

Lifting up his hand as best he could, he beckoned to the great bird. "Can I feel the wrist of your wing?" The phoenix lowered his wing for Squall to feel. He felt his way along the bony wrist of the legendary avian, his fingers; nearly covered all in tar, could still feel the tingle from the down. He lowered his hand as the bird raised his wrist, fingers still tingling with the warm energy from the feathers. Though, a practical thinker, he tended to stay, he refused to have practical beliefs. Many would peg him for an unimaginative, straightforward sort of person, but that was only because he wanted it that way. It was impossible for him to stay within the realm of reason, so he had no trouble believing the phoenix when he said he was just that.

"Where did you come from?" Squall asked, his voice cracking.

"I was always here." He answered. "And fortunate for you I was. You did well fending of the _Íydüj_. But you needed more help with the tar. You nearly died, and like I said before, I was afraid you would have permanent brain damage."

Truthfully, he felt like he already had it. But, beside the point, "Do you kno_wgh_-know just why I read minds."

"Most certainly. For you, are not a natural human being. Your ancestors DNA was tampered with long ago, fusing it with inorganic 'code', nucleic acid you might call it. Very illusive sort, hard to detect unless you want to find it. And, since I doubt anyone has wanted to find it, it has never been detected in you. Yes, you are one of the few remaining Echo Hosts. Because of the nucleic code within you, it has stimulated the brain unnaturally. For you, apparently, are telepathic. Fortunate for you indeed, most of the times, the nucleic acid will completely separate into a giant stone within the person, taking away their status of Echo Host and becoming Echo Carriers. And I hear those stones are painful. But there is word that they have come back and are making more Echo Hosts."

The Moomba all sat around Squall, with Cardinal squeezing in beside him. Out of the three, she was the most worried about his health.

"Who are **they**?" He asked the great bird solemnly.

"We call them _Aban_, but we barely know anything about them. They came here millennia ago, carrying their picks, and their drills. From another planet, they are, and they found our magic, and our ethereal prowess interesting. They discovered the Sorceress and decided to make one of their own: Echo Hosts. But that was a complete flop." The phoenix chuckled a bit at the memory. "There was more to a Sorceress then just mixing DNA with nucleic code. But the results were interesting all the same. So they started to examine your ancestors, and breed them. Unfortunately, the organic body would often refuse the nucleic acid, and make an Echo Carrier, and those that did stay Echo Hosts suffered an atrocious blight on the mind, couldn't distinguish between what was real and what wasn't." The phoenix stopped his tale as he sighed in nostalgia, remembering very well the pain on those faces, the stress in the eyes. That blight had been their downfall.

"I believe, that you have a word for that blight," continued the phoenix, sounding quiet burdened and sad. "We were happy to see that the blight skipped several generations, but it wasn't enough. Many of the true Echo Hosts died off, or were killed by the insane, and the Echo Carriers couldn't breed." He looked back down at Squall, whose hand was on Cardinal"s shoulder. "The blight claimed your Mother child. It claimed both your Grandfathers, and your Mother's Mother."

"It claimed Mom?" Squeaked Squall. He heard a rumbling hiss in his head, and Cloak started to cackle. "You told me she died of cancer!" He scolded at her.

_"I told you she **had** cancer. I didn't say it killed her."_

"YOU killed her!"

_"The hell you blaming me for?! I'm YOURS! Not HERS! How DARE you accuse me of being an HEIRLOOM!!"_

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He apologized to the voice, his hand subconsciously hiding his face in shame. Deacon was the only Moomba who backed away from him, as Cardinal and Bishop stayed close, fearing what he would do. The phoenix lowered his mighty beak to Squall, troubled by his mysterious and disturbing apology. He knew immediately that he was not apologizing to him or any of the three Moomba.

He brought Squall to reality with a nudge from his beak. "Who are you apologizing too? You offended no one." At first, he was afraid to say anything, scared of being ridiculed, terrified of being called weak, embarrassed by his snivelling apology.

The phoenix stayed quite, waiting patiently for him to eventually speak. "I'm apologizing to," he stuttered in his reluctance, but the phoenix was patient. "I was...was apologizing to Cloak." He disdained how feeble he sounded, he felt like sobbing, and couldn't hold back any tears.

"I see." The bird uttered softly, not knowing quite how to respond to that. "Do you...hear any other voices?"

"Yes," he sniffled. "I can hear Strychnine, _snff_. She's my G-guardian Force."

"Oh, but she doesn't upset you like this?"

"_Snff_, no.■ Squall took in a trembling breath as he collected himself. "Wh-why do I hear Guardian Forces as well?"

"That is a simple explanation." Answered the phoenix, a soft smile gracing the corners of his mouth. "You are an Echo Host, and _Bïdi_, the forms you call your Guardians, are from Echo, so you can hear them when you have them junctioned. For you see, Bïdi make their homes in your mind, or more specifically, in your brain, where much of your nucleic acid resides. Non Echo Hosts won't be as connected to them as you."

"Is-is Cloak a Bïdi?" Squall asked with his squeaking voice.

"I don't know." He answered solemnly. "I can't find this entity within you. But I do know why you are dying."

_I'm dying?_

The phoenix continued. "The wound on your leg, it radiates a disturbing poison; eating away your organic body, leaving the nuclei."

"Is that bad?"

"If you look at it that way, yes. But the Wayward is coming. It came to be from the compression of time you know all too well about, and it will determine if you are to be completely organic, or completely...nuclear? I don't know of any word for the other half, so lets just go with nuclear."

It seamed like more of a beautiful story rather then a fate. Lying on the bird's foot in pain and confusion, covered in blood, tar, and tattered clothes, it seamed everything had become surreal. High on his own self-pity, he began to mumble the first three verses of "Envri Slir".

_"Oh, is synthetic blood nuclear?"_ Repeated the memory of what Strychnine had once said. And so the meaning of what the phoenix said became more clear.

_What is the Wayward? A judge? It'll decide my fate as an organic waste of space, or some nuclear alien._ How odd it seamed that Griever had already chosen his physical make-up. _Griever? Will you be the Wayward?_ Squall extended his hands towards the sky in an attempt to reach something in his pain induced high. The phoenix lowered his beak once more, allowing him to rub it to allow him a small bit of comfort. Feeling that he had indeed reached something, Squall lifted himself as best he could to hug the beak that was lowered for him. He felt two large gashes along the side that were distinctly familiar, as well as a group of dents somewhere underneath them.

He recognized the mark. "Sly?" He whispered.


	5. Junction

5

Junction

"Excuse me sir. Do you speak Galbadian?" Rinoa asked a random person.

"Excuse me ma'am. Do you speak Galbadian?" She chose to stick with Galbadian since it was the most widespread language she knew.

"Excuse me sir. Do you speak Galbadian...?"

"Excuse me sir. Do you speak Galbadian...?"

"Excuse me ma'am. Do you speak Galbadian...?"

"Excuse me robot. Are you programmed to speak Galbadian...?" Not even the robot knew Galbadian. Thus far, all she had gotten was: "_Ach brion hallâr"_, "_Irskün aurch ell"_, "_Wrar anch grün"_ and everything else in Estharian. Eventually, she came to the very centre of the freakishly large super city. The parliamentary palace shone like a polished quartz crystal against the sky she found to be a calm morning, probably close to noon. Fortunate for her was that she knew the Prime Minister, and also knew that he could speak fluent New Galbadian.

Walking up to the palace, she realized the error of her way only when two guards stopped her.

"_Oger wichton, ur anch grün ratter aunch Früchtersain?"_ Do you have any business with the Prime Minister?

_Whoa! Slow down!_ Rinoa said inwardly. "_Abta. Ip lis Galbadias keen?"_ Please. Do you speak Galbadian?

The soldiers looked at each other with confusion before they turned back to her.

_No, no. Hell NO!_ Not even those guards could speak Galbadian? "_Hessa os Balambeiz ejez?"_ Do you speak Balambese? She was desperate enough to try.

The soldiers didn't seam to, they started to escort her away but she resorted to plan C. "_Itr Alcáuldir, ktavsa?"_ Do you speak Alcauldian? She was nearly truly surprised when the soldiers stopped pushing her.

"Yes," started one in that language, "speak Alcauldian, we do." It was broken Alcauldian, but understandable. Rinoa had only tried that for the sake of trying. If that hadn't worked, she would have used a language from Timber, even though she was sure it wouldn't work. Alcauldian was a very rare language to begin with; she didn't think anyone outside of Balamb would care to learn it before Galbadian.

"Um..." What was she to say? Honestly, she hadn't thought of it beforehand. "I'd like to speak to Prime Minister Loire because...um...I...no, you see...uhm..."

"Wears thin, our patience does." One of the soldiers spoke in a stoic manner.

"Well, you see...uh...I'm a sorceress..." Before she could continue, she had two rifles aimed at her face. "Wait! Wait! I wish to forge a diplomatic peace with you, so I need to see the Prime Minister!"

Both soldiers lowered their guns, but still looked quite angry. "_Schar, groud anch rüttnglair, ehg nâ ach bie Früchtersainim mainchn!" _ Then get your scrawny ass to the Prime Minister's office! Though Rinoa knew nothing of what they said, the manner of which it was said, and the aggressive thumb pointing over him at the palace entrance told her they were letting her go while they were still in a good mood. Both standing aside, she ran to the transporter by the main entrance and was lifted up.

A fleeting light show of the palace's interior whizzed by as the transporter took her to the foyer. She could see through the transparency of the tube at fascinating wiring displays and glowing piping; at least she thought it was piping, until she was dropped off inside the building. The lip the trasporter descended looked very much like a short metal slide one saw at the playground, only more industrial looking, but in front of it was a velvety carpet sewn in beautiful colours. On the walls were large green banners with the Estharian Sigel portrayed over some sort of written statement scrawled in Estharian. Lights illuminated the green banners over them. Sort of an intimidating atmosphere as far as Rinoa felt. Now that she was in the Parliamentary Palace, where was she to go? Maybe she should have taken more time out to think over her plan. Everyone had their flaws, and hers just happened to have been the lack of foresight. Oh well, she had been in predicaments such as her present scenario (though maybe a little more life threatening), but she had come out okay. Why didn't she just transport herself to the Prime Minister's office since she was closer?

_DAMN!_ Rinoa scolded herself. _Why the hell didn't I do that when I was in front of the palace?!_ It would have saved her some embarrassing explanations.

Once again, she stole into the glass universe. What with being closer to her destination, it was easier to pinpoint exactly where she wanted to be. And she found it. She couldn't miss Laguna Loire's long black hair tied back in a ponytail, that stupid; yet charming grin that said nothing about his intelligence, and the fact that he was wearing street clothes and not the common white robe. She recognized that huge, rather fat, bearded man beside him who looked to be at the console behind the desk. Rinoa revved herself up, and shot forward out of the glass universe.

Laguna sat at his desk, in front of his computer trying to find the 'any' key as per instructions. He had his Minister of Defence: Phillis Gatchman, forward an e-document to his computer, and she just needed Laguna to lock down the address. All it normally took was the press of one key, but Laguna always managed to complicate things.

"Just press any key Prime Minister!" She scolded.

"You keep saying sat, but I can't find any 'any' key!" Defended Laguna.

"It's de key right in front of you!"

"Vat key?! All I'm getting is letters?!"

"Any key means **any** key!"

"You keep saying sat! Now just spell it out!"

"It's **Any One Key**!"

"Sose aren't letters Villis."

"It's Phillis! Dammit, I make von mistake at de Vinter Solstice Festival and no one vill let me hear de end of it!"

Laguna tried to find those letters, but had no luck. "Can you spell sat slover?"

Phillis would have erupted with rage if Ward hadn't just pressed a key for him.

"Tank you Minister Zabac."

_So, se any key is also se 'caps lock' key._ Laguna thought with much interest. At that moment, Rinoa came down from the ceiling and slammed face first into the glass floor.

After seeing what happened, Laguna turned back to the monitor. "Gotta go Villis. A girl just slammed face-first into se floor."

He heard the minister correct her name just before he turned her off, looking over to where Rinoa lay on her face. Lifting herself up to her knees, she rubbed her forehead that was made sore by the impact, but fortunate it didn't break. The glass underneath hadn't cracked a bit.

As she rose languidly to her feet, Laguna recognized her immediately. "Hey, it's Sorceress Rinoa!" He began excitedly to Ward. "S'up Sorceress?"

For a moment, she was still dizzy from her rough landing, and only registered any greeting when she was wrapped in a ferocious bear hug.

She was at a complete loss for words. "Nice to see you too Prime Minister Loire." She spoke in Galbadian.

"Laguna, please." He reminded her without retracting his hug.

"Okay, Prime Minister Laguna," she was forced to break the hug herself, "I have a favour to ask of you, and I couldn't understand anyone, so..."

"Whoa, whoa. No need to go all official here. Ven vas se last time ve saw echoser? A few veeks ago? Ve have so much to catch up on." He put his arm around Rinoa's shoulder and began leading her out the room. "Vard, hold my calls." Laguna left the room with Rinoa still protesting, and Ward wondering 'what calls?'.

§

The wind whistled though Squall's faded brown hair. His skin tingled where it made contact with Sly's brilliant plumage. On either side of him was one of the Moomba, and the third was behind him, he could not see them exactly, but knew they were their simply by the sound of their squeaks, and their voices inside his head.

How many voices am I going to get in my head before I die? He thought gloomily.

Drastically, his life was burning to the ground and the door to the fire exit was jammed. Thinking about what had changed for him made him even more and more depressed. Ironically, his current depression started with said depression in the first place. He had been lost in some sort of reality; 'Limbo' he called it, a very fitting name. The Balambese, Zell included, believed that when people died, they went to Ghanzes Purgatory: a vast, grey wasteland with absolutely no colour, no sun, no moon, no stars, not even a sky. Once there, they had to find their way to Heaven. Chocobos were sacrificed and buried with the dead, as they believed the bird's soul would go with the person's soul to serve as their steed. That practice was still in use, but the majority of the Balambese people were buried with bells, whistles, horns; anything that would make a lot of noise so Hynes Chocobos; called _Nambajasinew_ Bliss Messengers would find them and take them to their eternal rest. The Nambajasinew were said to love music, so musicians were always buried with their instruments. Squall did not participate in those Balambese traditions, as he was Alcauldain, but knew well about them since a lot of students at Garden were of the Western Culture.

Then? Then what? Then Cloak came. He woke up and was told he was missing a lot of blood. He could guess why, but didn't Rinoa say he cut his wrist? He honestly couldn't remember that, though he was having suicidal tendencies. Squall had had suicidal tendencies many times, but would stop before attempting them; suicide victims weren't granted death honours. He never did tell anybody about them, as he deemed it wasn't their business.

But, was his warped psyche worth protecting? The question begged reconsideration as Squall recalled how he had behaved in front of Sly. It had been pathetic! His first encounter with a legendary creature and he had to bawl like a kid who scraped their knee. Slowly, he could feel himself becoming a worthless invalid who had to be waited upon, and what was more, who could he count on? He had only begun to realize he had left them all behind: Rinoa, Zell, Quistis,┘he felt incredibly low that he had let his guard down. Once again, he felt open, and alone.

_"This is what you get Appalling Pace."_ Cloak cackled. "_When the rent's overdue, the landlord collects. You had to bring them all in! For what?! Why the fuck do you let those vermin toy with you?! Don't they realize that you have feelings, too?! Get over it Rot Gut, your tears won't bring those bastards back! Or have you forgotten? They're the cause of all your agony!"_

Maybe the voice was onto something. Going over the 'pro's and 'con's of the relationship he had with them, he came to a morbid philosophy equivalent to a parasite. He was better off. He had to forget about them. Even though his mind tried to erase all those memories, it just didn't take. In mental anguish, Squall fell forward, crying into the phoenix's feathers. One of the Moomba held onto him as if he were going to fall off.

§

Dr. Fishbein patrolled the circumference of the White Basin, the huge and very deep caladra that the tar from the Black Canyon emptied into, though they called it the Black Rift in Esthar. An Estharian Seismologist, his job was to monitor the probes they set up all around the periphery and retrieve whatever data they collected. Earthquakes were known to hit the area, even though the Capital of Esthar had adapted quite well to withstand earthquakes, it could not withstand a volcano. Though, less frequent then earthquakes, eruptions did occur, and they proved to be harder to adapt too, measuring any seismological activity was a good idea. The enormous caladra beneath the White Basin was an extinct volcano that probably hadn't erupted for millions of years. They had all guessed, in the seismic community, that the last time the White Caladra blew its top, it released an enormous cloud of gas and ash that fried the young continent, releasing a sea of lava that gave the Estharian plate its present shape, which equalled to a lot of lava. The volcanic debris was freakishly thick and covered the entire continent, and gave it its unique cliff to shore topography. Before the eruption, the south west part of the continent, the part that held the capital city, and the air station, didn't exist, only the volcano jutted out from the sea, Trabia wasn't connected to them, and the primitive continent was covered by forests, just like the Grandidi Forest. The forest was ancient, and was already so when the White Caladra, then a well formed volcano, erupted.

Hence, the story of how Esthar was so barren and had steep cliffs for shorelines. An earthquake that originated right from the caladra was what created the Black Rift, created _after_ the lake had supposedly run dry. There was no clear answer as to why, though. The volcanic eruption had set off many other volcanoes as well. Most of the Island of Balamb was made from lava flows; probably all of it.

A huge gap in their nation's seismic history was omitted by the Adel Reign. The Sorceress had cancelled any geological programs in favour of 'useful sciences'. They never caught up. Still, scientists like Fishbein came into the light after seventeen years in darkness to get back to studying the White Basin and its sibling phenomenon. They knew, that some time in the future, the White Basin would erupt again, but with consequences that could be much more widespread.

The salt of the lake covered the tar in a manner that made it look like solid ground. It was not unheard of for some unknowing child to wander in and sink into their tomb, or for some criminal to hide a body in there. It even had some hallow bones floating on top to fool anyone. The lighter bones were a puzzler, since only birds were known to have them, and the bones looked a lot like fish.

The probe looked a lot like the bottom of a stethoscope. With a handheld, electronic notepad that looked like a cellular phone, he typed in the findings the probe collected.

"A few tremors zis veak," began Fishbein as he surveyed the data, "not zat bad." One tremor hitting number four on the scale was a good indicator that a volcanic eruption was imminent. Three tremors, only hitting number two, meant that a larger earthquake would only fallow it.

Saving his findings and turning off his notepad, the doctor aimed to head back to his associates' lab, but was stopped by a glowing, fiery object in the sky. Fixed to the spot with awe, he wondered if it was a comet he was seeing, or some other interstellar body. The body had a great tail of flame behind it, and the fires of the object seamed to be tainted with green and blue embers. A metallic meteor? The object finally touched down somewhere close to Fishbein, only behind the rocky boulders only a kilometre away. But the strange thing about it was; there was no flash of impact, no quake of impact, and no sound, as if the meteor had landed as smoothly as an aircraft.

He had to see that body. For all he knew, it could have been a rogue ship, or a distressed vessal.

Halfway there, he was surprised even more to see a moomba, he hadn't seen such creatures in years. The orange beast spotted him, running towards him while frantically squeaking. There came a second, less hairy then the first, and a third that was smaller then the other two. The first one got right up to him and started to shake the sleeve of his white robe. It pointed towards the landing sight of the interstellar body. The other two motioned in the same direction, tugging him along. The Estharians didn't have much of a high opinion of Moomba, and for a second, Fishbein wondered of the implications of being dragged along by animals. His wondering was concluded as soon as he saw a fourth lumbering among the stones. It was not a moomba, but a human being, and a wretched looking soul at that. Wearing some sort of tattered green robe with a large blue collar and covered in black tar and bloodstains, it looked as if the person had brown hair that was rather colour worn. The skin looked rather pale, wrapped over a thinning complexion. The person limped along the salt, stumbling as it moved forward in a daze, yelling something in some language he had never heard.

Fishbein ran toward the person, catching it as it was about to collapse.

"_Envri vokir, envri iðra...envri vokir..."_ the person kept stuttering. Looking at his face, Fishbein could tell the person was only a youth, but the tar made it very hard to discern a gender. A single scar raced across the face over the nose. The youth opened its eyes, and the doctor shuddered; the eyes were clouded over completely. The three moombas crowded around the youth. One of them, the less hairy of the bunch, seamed to be consoling the youth.

"_Vokir...envri vokir..."_ the youth kept moaning.

Fishbein was panicking. "Listen, I don't know vat you're saying..." the kid was probably dying and trying to tell him something. "Can you speak Ezzarian...?"

"_Itkra! Urgrær kir. URGRÆR KIR!"_ Whatever the youth was saying, it sounded painful to recollect.

"Listen! Do you speak Ezzarian?!"

The youth began to sing in a shaky whisper:

"_Fjalsnid briþnor vra vring kranskirdi,  
Vring ilsnæ, vundir vring fled.  
Vring graki elvjon fledsvak bruki;  
Ekross vri ak jal esnæd."_

Clearly, it either couldn't speak Estharian, or it was delirious. Setting the youth down, Fishbein took out a mobile phone from the pocket in his poncho.

He dialled the number for the Parameter Search. "Hello, zis is Doctor Nestor Fishbein..."

"Doc? Is somesing goinna blow?" The woman on the other side asked before he could finish.

"No, just a few tremors. But I've got a delirious and blind youth out here in need of medical attention."

"A youth?"

"Yeah, I can't tell if it's a boy or girl because it's covered in tar and blood. Zere are sree moombas her, probably accompanied it."

"Okay, I'll send out an ambulance. Vat is your position?"

Fishbein gave them his coordinates. Deacon tugged on Squall's blackened sleeve and pointed at the Estharian doctor bending over him, but he had already gone unconscious from the mix of heat, dehydration, and a biting pain in his back and neck.

§

_"Vitals: low."_

_"Hydration level: low."_

_"Blood pressure: veak."_

A metallic green orb by the name of Sadi hovered about a sterile white room. The robot had two mechanical arms; one on each side, each arm had three slinky looking fingers. Sadi had seven glassy eyes that looked like a spider's, with a small port on its underside that held a syringe within. The dangling end of a female plug hung from its back like a tail, pulled in while the machine was active. The type of plug in was why the staff referred to Sadi as a 'she'. She spoke in a woman's monotonous voice, but was only programmed to speak in Estharian.

_"Cell count: uncertain."_

_"Cell degradation: rapid."_

_"Brain activity: intense."_

_"Brain pattern: erratic."_

_"Physical build: emaciated."_

In the empty room silhouetted by the huge light above her, Sadi hovered over a comatose Squall. He lay on a sterilized white bed in the centre of the room, draped over him was a cyan blue blanket.

_"Vitality: poor."_

Sadi had just taken a blood sample from him. Her program was fixed to accept synthetic blood, so she had no trouble with it. As part of her procedure, she needed a retina scan. She poked one of Squall's closed eyes just so she could sense what to open. With her spindly metal fingers, she lifted the lids. The robot attempted to scan his retina, but due to the blisters, she was obstructed.

_"Retina scan impossible."_

_"Dat's okay Sadi,"_ started a much more human voice coming from the intercom by the two-way mirror. The mirror was positioned only one half of the parameter of the circular room. "_You can come out now."_

The shiny little green robot left her duty and headed for the camouflaged door adjacent the mirror. Not really equipped with the know-how to open doors, she simply hovered in front of it, saying: "_Current path is impeded."_ The door slid open mechanically with a hospital doctor standing on the other side, Sadi snapped back to her current path and hovered the rest of the way out.

Once again, the door needed to be open for her again as she hovered into the room on the other side of the two-way. Two doctors, Dr. Irma Zebarth and Dr. Nemo Pesch were in the room. Irma was at the built in console, ready to take the blood sample Sadi had collected, while Nemo overlooked the proceedings.

Sadi floated up to Dr. Zebarth. "_Blood sample ready."_

"All right sen." Irma started, taking hold of the small robot that was only as big as a football. With a push of a small button, the syringe of blood was ejected from her circular belly. With the sample removed and placed in a port, Sadi was let go, but she had more to say.

_"High levels of paramagic vere detected in ze patient. Energy level of unknown Guardian Force vas detected. Patient may be dangerous."_ Nemo looked at the robot, hoping he hadn't heard her say what he thought she said.

"Relax Nemo," assured Irma when she saw his worried look. "She said 'paramagic', not 'magic'. Besides, only vomen can be sorceresses."

"I know." He agreed, trying to hide the fact that he had panicked for no reason. "vell, at least ve know now dat 'it' is a boy. Listen to me, I sound like a guy hooss vife just had a baby."

"Indeed." Was all Irma could say. "So, I vonder how sis young man got lost in se Vhite Desert?"

"It happens all de time. Ve're right next to it."

"He's probably foreign. Ven he vas brought in, Dr. Fishbein said he vas mumbling stuff in some unknown language."

"So? Maybe it vas in tongue."

She gave him an exasperated look. "Don't complicate se situation Nemo." Currently, she had the computer scan the DNA sample for any possible relatives, even though their DNA list only consisted of Estharian citizens and military personnel. Squall had been washed clean when he had been brought in. Only a large patch of tar on his back remained. Since it had clung to his skin so tightly, the nurses were concerned that its removal would mean the loss of his skin. They found a multitude of scars: old and new. There was an unusual concentration on his back, criss-crossing over each other, even where the tar covered them. There was something on his left shoulder that seamed to resemble written words, nearly hidden by the tar they didn't dare remove. The writing was in a foreign screed though, so they took a print of it and ran it through the language database to get a translation; they were still waiting on the results. Strangely, his face was clean of scratches save one that went down diagonally between his eyes; the fact that it was just one scratch was odd. What sort of animal or monster did that? Or did he get it in a weapons fight? On his right leg, they found a horrible bite mark covered in a very fine gauze that had been drenched with tar. The bite looked like it was in the process of healing, but it smelled odd for a wound: it reeked of freshly dyed felt, strong enough that it gave one of the paramedics a queasy stomach.

The computer had opened up a list of names and was currently scrolling down them to find a DNA match. Several times, the list had to be simplified in order to narrow it down, but the computer finally found a match.

"Vell, guess vat?" Irma quipped with a wry smile. "Our boy here is se Prime Minister's son."

Nemo didn't look like he believed that. "De Prime Minister had a kid?"

"His biography did say he vas married shortly before he came to Esthar. And you know vat? I sink sey may have gotten busy."

_"Ze rate of fertility in Galbadian males ages tventy to ssirty is 88.45357 percent."_ Sadi concluded. "_Depending on ze origins of ze child's mozer, ze odds zat Prime Minister Loire could have sired estimated at about eighty percent or higher."_

Nemo looked back at Irma with a smug smile. "Sadi makes more sense den you.'

"Yeah, vell, good for Sadi." The doctor turned back to the console. "So sat should mean sis kid is about seventeen years of age. Vonder vat he's doing out here?"

§

_"Feeling better honey?"_ Cloak chuckled as Squall lay in unconsciousness. "_Wakey wakey. Time to get up...WAKE UP!"_

Her shout was like a bolt of lightning striking his head, just not as hot. Squall opened his dead eyes out of reflex. The only sound he heard was the buzz of silence in his ears. He struggled to remember what had happened, but around the time he was flying high on Sly's back, his own brain had started to fly high. When he got off, he wasn't sure of landing, not even sure if he fell off the phoenix by accident. He feel a blanket over him, but was unsure if he was tied down. The bed he was on was hardened underneath, but generally cushioned.

_DR. RAVEN!_ His mind jumped as he came to the conclusion he was in the mental institute again.

_"Smash em!"_ Shouted Cloak with no empathy. "_They don't deserve to live!"_ Mind clouded and reason in shreds, his brain picked up the thoughts of two individuals, and without thinking further, he acted.

Shooting upright on his bed, he threw a strong spell of strong ice at the general direction he heard the thoughts. But, since he did not call it by name, the spell went wild.

Irma and Nemo barely comprehended what had just happened until they were thrown into the wall by a strange and strong blast of frozen wind. As the snow settled in front of them, the two doctors looked over at what was once a console and a two-way mirror to find a mass of radiating shards and ice amidst a mechanical mess, the wall between them and the white room blown to frigid shards. Their patient was up, bare chested and slouching, looking blankly at the floor beside him, his hand was up before them, fingers splayed wide as if it were up against a wall.

Covered in snow and fragmented debris, Sadi shook herself free and hovered up, her sensors picking up the unusual architecture that she knew was supposed to be something else. But seeing the patient sitting up in bed when he was previously comatose, her mechanical brain surmised that he had gotten better.

_"Patient has made a critical recovery."_ She stated. Being in Estharian, Squall didn't understand any of it, he was also unaware that it was just an innocent medical robot speaking.

Lifting his head up with the sound of twigs snapping, he aimed his eyes towards the sound of Sadi's mechanical monotone, hissing in frosted venom: "_slalda an vjasdin, gjadsril yl!"_ Trip and rot, bitch! Before he was able to throw another of his spells at her, he was held tight by two pairs of arms; Nemo and Irma had run up quickly to restrain him.

Cloak shouted at him. "_You've done it now Appalling Pace! They'll fry your other hand in oil...!"_

Squall shouted in protest at, wriggling manically as the doctors tried to keep him still.

_"...They'll force you to eat it with mustard and brine...!"_

He struggled even harder. The whines from his own body begged him to stop.

_"...Maybe they'll make you eat your other kidney!"_

It had been a horrible experience. In the institute, they had knocked him out in electrical shock therapy and took him down to surgery, where they removed one of his kidneys. When he woke up, he was met with Dr. Raven and an orderly with a try of food. It contained a huge wad of meat in the centre with some honey mustard for dipping and some corn.

"Dat's your own kidney on dat plate." Dr. Raven had told him blankly. "You can't come out until you've eaten every last bit of it." He left him alone wondering why it was he wanted Squall to eat his own organ.

"Sadi!" Irma called. "Some anaestetic! STAT!" Obediently, the greenish orb plucked a sterilized syringe from the safe confines of a drawer that escaped the freezing blizzaga spell. She handed the needle to Irma, who stuck the point into Squall's arm, draining the cream white concoction into him.

The patient continued to struggle, even after the syringe was emptied. It took only a few moments more and the drug started to take effect.

As Squall became light-headed, Cloak became hotheaded. "_What the fuck are you doing?! Get back up and be difficult! Don't turn your back on me when I'm talking to you! HEY...!"_ Cloak's voice died down as the world became a dizzying blur. The doctors eased him back down onto the bed where he fell asleep again.

§

Laguna treated Rinoa to a cup of blue mythmist tea and a plate of sweets he had made himself. The kitchen was kept to a sterile sheen that gleamed off the glassy purple countertops and metallic cupboards. A little round 'mopbot' hovered over the triangular tiles, constantly watching out for any speck of dust to clean up.

Rinoa managed to get a word in to Laguna's jabbering. "I appreciate the courteously Prime Minister Loire..."

"Laguna, please." He interrupted with a shining smile.

"Prime Minister Laguna, I need to talk to you about why I'm here." Laguna mumbled for her to continue, as his mouth was filled with a minty Estharian cake known as a Frunwainahraun, which meant 'Greenstack Square'. Several crumbs from the Frunwainahraun fell to the floor, where the edgy mopbot swept them up immediately.

"Okay," she began, "the resistance group I'm with, along with my dog, Selphie, Zell, and one chocobo got in a bit of a bind back home, and then we got an extra six people and three Moomba. To get away from an angry platoon of Galbadian rushwakers who would pound the tar out of us for thinking we blew up a building, we ducked into a train car that started off on the tracks. We were ambushed by a rival resistance group who gave us a good beating before they left. The train stopped near that salt lake and we all got off and proceeded to cross that damned white frying pan on foot. We got into a bit of a spot with some bad assed monster that tried to make fritters out of us. We're down by one person, the Moomba and chocobo. Now the rest of us are trapped underground in a dank pit surrounded by monsters that bite on a whim and drag people to the bottom of a sewer-dank underground lake with their tongues. I came now because I know how to teleport myself. But my group are out of food and water, and if the monsters don't kill them, then their hunger and thirst will, and if that doesn't kill them, their tempers will!" It seamed she was trying to get that all out in one breath.

The man gave her a long, silent stare before he spoke. "Do you know vat vould help sose tempers? A good cup of blue mythmist tea. Alvays calms se raging beast. Se next best sing to music."

"I don't think they would like it if I returned with tea bags and cups." Rinoa could just imagine returning with those items in hand. Seifer would have a fit, saying: "what the fuck is this? I'm goinna break this thing over someone's head!"

"Of course not. You need somesing to eat to go viss it to sveeten se deal..."

"Exactly what I'm getting at."

"Might I suggest some of sis delectable Frunwainahraun. Or my favourite down home cake: Kibklanis. Sose pistachios are miracle nuts."

"Sounds great." Agreed Rinoa, taking a piece of that Kibklanis, a two layered square with a thick bottom of shortcake and a thinner, but hardy layer of some sort of butterscotch spread with pistachios wedged between the two layers. The crumbs that fell from her bites were licked up busily by the mopbot. "But I was hoping that you could send something like a rescue crew down there, or something."

"Vere? An underground lake has never been found underneas se Great Salt Lake."

"Trust me Laguna. It's there, and that's not all." She proceeded to tell him what she saw under the salt desert.

§

What strange drift flesh they had run upon. With the boy just having woken up, Nemo volunteered to converse with him for any possible answers. With him was Sadi, armed with more anaesthetic in her little pincer fingers.

They had moved the boy to the recovery ward of the Parameter Search Medical Centre. The room was long, lined with ten beds, five on each side. A tall window of glass was on the adjacent wall from the a door that retracted mechanically. The window was made of glass squares that were in different colours. All the beds were empty save one. The boy lay with his arms over his chest, gripping a heavy blue blanket. They had dressed him in a simple white gown and given him a solid blue bracelet, which meant he had no information on him, had no known relatives, and was foreign to their land. He stared blankly before him, the back of his bed slightly elevated to more of a sitting position.

The doctor's footsteps resounded on the pale yellow floor, so Nemo was sure the boy could here him approaching.

"Do you speak Estarian?" He began slowly. It looked as if the boy was contemplating his words, but would he understand them?

"Some." The boy answered weakly.

"I am Dr. Nemo Pesch. Vat is your name?"

The boy took another few seconds to think. "Squall."

"Vy are you here?"

"Yu, mi, take here." He answered slowly. That wasn't exactly the answer he was fishing for.

"No, vy did you come to Estar?"

"Why? Esthar?" Squall took his time to decipher the doctor's words. "I...come...mani. Wi come..." he stalled, not knowing how much more Estharian he had. "Chaos. Flee, wi didt."

"Ve? Did you come here alone, Squall?"

"No untrstandt."

Nemo spoke slower. "You come, vit more people?"

Squall looked confused. "People? Dedt."

"Dead? Vy?"

"No kill, no kill!"

"Sey veren't killed. How did sey die?"

"No kill, no kill..." Squall drifted off, he was much too tired to continue, not alone continue in a language he had to think extra hard to use.

Sadi floated up in front of him. "_Patient's name is recognizable. Check records for 'Squall' in database."_ Through dreary ears, he heard the mechanical drone from the little robot. Knowing that he was not in the institute, the voice was much less threatening. Slowly, he lifted his hands up and grabbed Sadi, pulling her down onto him. Over and over he turned her, feeling the seven small eyes, the lithe little arms, the port on her metal belly, and the plug that was on her backside. The action did not bother her, children would grab her all the time and examine her, and so she was programmed to be patient when that happened.

_I'm defiantly in Esthar._

It was somewhat amusing for Nemo to see the boy take the robot and fiddle with it. He had seen small children take Sadi and examine her plenty of times, but it was odd for him to see a much older child do as such. Squall examined the remarkable machine a few more times before his grip went limp around her. Sadi wriggled loose to hover beside him, looking back to examine the patient once more.

_"Patient is asleep."_

§

They had been having some technical problems with some of the security grids at the Centre. A short, stocky technician stood down by the main door checking out the wiring in the panels. It was late in the evening, the sun was set, and it was time to go home and leave the skeleton crew behind. Nemo trudged downstairs to the large entrance. The floor there was a shining bluish brown grid of triangular tiles, with six tall pillars of soft blue colour stretching up to the great glass sunroof above. He had abandoned his white smock for the day and gotten in his informal robe and green poncho.

"Night off Pesch?" Started the technician, still looking over the wires.

"Night off. How's sat vicker vork coming along Marl?"

"Not bad, not bad. I found out se problem vas some idiot decided to jam a piece of liquorice between se fuse box."

"Vell, if you've found se problem, vy are you sill here?"

"Sere's more san one fuse box! And se one here is making trouble for me!" From a stainless steal case he brought, he brandished a small metal rod, which he used to attempt prying the piece of liquorice without severing a wire. "Vat? You don't like my company?"

"Hey, it's not like I'll be here for se rest of se..." He stopped mid comment as a loud, shrill voice rang in his head.

_"I AM NOT WEAK!"_

Marlin had heard it too, as he also looked up from his work with curiosity to the anguished voice.

Upstairs on the third floor, Irma sat in front of a semi horizontal computer screen going through the patients' database of every hospital in Esthar City. She had already translated the inscription forged onto the shoulder of the young man. It was of New Galbadian, a language easily enough obtained. It contained three names, a date, and a number of height; it read like a standard identification tag. The first name she could guess was that of the boy, complete with birth date and height was all. The second one was that of a psychiatrist, she had gone to the records to look for that name, but sure enough, there was no Koraks Karrion on the Estharian file. It would take some time to get a foreign file. The third name said that of an institution, one of which she was sure she would find as soon as she located the name of the psychiatrist.

Currently, she was checking the name 'Squall' as Sadi had suggested. The name was stuck in the back; but it was there:

_-Squall Leonhart (sur name may not be true)  
-Age 17  
-Foreign  
-SeeD Commander  
-Treated by Dr. Gowan Wain. Found to have severe blood loss. Was given a replacement of synthetic blood to hold him until their people could locate donor. Was also given a few prescriptions.  
-Released_

_So he was that child warrior the media exposed._ What had happened to put him in the state they found him in? Synthetic blood wasn't nearly that toxic. The brief medical file from Dr. Wain was due to the fact that he was foreign, but with his father being a citizen of the country, that would probably change.

Those points, she would have more time to ponder, Irma was a part of the skeleton crew anyway. Longingly, she looked out of the third story window out at the darkened silhouette of the city. The capital was a good few miles away from them, but one could still see those behemoth constructions in the horizon, a beautiful sight during the day, but sort of creepy at magic hour and dark. As part of curfew, the lights from unoccupied rooms had to be turned off; only the lights for the front lobby were on full power, as she only had a desk lamp to light her way. How she wished she didn't have to stay for the night, she may not have had a family, but she did have a life.

A figure streaked out of the facility and disappeared into the darkness. It was so fast, and Irma was so locked into a daydream that she barely got a good look at it, but she did know that it ran out the front door!

Leaving the room, she ran to the first floor lobby.

"Hey Marl, you down sere?" There was not answer; he was probably absorbed in his work.

"Marl!" She called again with more force, but it seamed the technician had become rather busy.

_Or sat sing scared him vittless._

Irma stomped into the lobby. "Hey, Marl! Somesing vizzes by you and you don't even..." Her stomping ceased immediately as she gaped in full terror at what she say. Both Marl and Nemo lay on the floor, but clean in half at the waist. Marl's top half was still upright, clinging to a rod that stuck out of the open panel, his bottom half right beside him. Both Nemo's halves were at a hundred and forty degree angle from each other. Both their eyes were sill open. Neither of them would not have known what hit them. Whatever had come through there had come through fast. The doors were not busted, which meant that it could open them, and there was no active security to have stopped it!

The blood that oozed out of their flayed bodies covered the lobby, settling into the grooves of the tiles to create a dark red triangular grid. If the monster was smart enough to open doors, did it get any other patients? Worried for their safety, she left for the basement to check on the three moombas.

All three of them were in the room they had left them, but one of them looked very uneasy, like it knew what was going on.

She ran up to the recovery ward. Bursting through the door, she found all ten beds empty; the one that had been occupied just that afternoon was empty. Even though there was no blood there, she did not feel any consolation; the boy was dying and she was a doctor.

"Don't even think about it." Spoke a low, surly voice in clear Estharian. Before she could turn around, a spray of blood burst out of her abdomen to reveal the bloody head of a white pike. Her gut rang pain up and around every part of her body as the pike was turned inside her, and ultimately killed her.

The doctor's body fell onto its front. Nida put his foot onto its shoulder blades as he yanked his weapon out.


	6. On the Radio

6

On the Radio

How long had it felt to him since he last ran on his own two feet? He was not weak, and he could prove it! He would prove that he was a cold hearted, battle beaten warrior! He would kill his estranged Father and damn his feelings! Just like the old days when the only thing that held him back was the instinct of survival.

With him, and Strychnine, junctioned together in a way he was never taught of, still blind and incapable of smell, he relied on his awesome hearing and new-found sixth sense. Picking up on the thoughts of others was no difficult task, it was as easy as changing the radio station. Also, like a radio station, they were all marked with their frequency, he didn't know how he knew it, but Squall knew whom belonged to each mind, each frequency. And so, it was not at all hard to find Laguna, but with no sight, obstacles were a bit of a problem; but he had a special weapon to deal with them. All he was concerned about was killing his joke of a Dad.

§

A previously dark room flooded with light as the door into it opened. The light revealed creamy yellow ceramic tile, each with shallow lotus patterns moulded onto them. The walls were a dusty pink, painted and high, at least ten feet high. At both sides of the door, and all four corners therein were placed pillars that stretched to the ceiling; odd pillars, framed with a dark blue plastic, yet had an unusual green crystal texture on the body. Extending from the pillars in the corners were beams, made of the same dark blue plastic and creating an 'X' overhead of the room. The centre of the criss-crossed beams held a large overhead light that was shaped like a rounded shield. Above it, where the walls finally stretched out, was a flat ceiling of dark tile that was partially reflective. The wall parallel to the opened door was all window from a few feet off the floor up to the ceiling. The room sported a queen-sized bed with simple dark bedposts that were oddly plain in designs, with a flat screen television on the wall parallel to it. There was a desk that looked very slick and lightweight with a strange looking disk floating in mid air above it. On the centre of the floor was a square carpet that was of an interesting design. In the general style of checker, the dark red patches looked like songbirds, while the white patches looked like terriers. On the wall on the left was another door, also with the crystallized pillars flanking it.

Ward Zabac stepped into the room and pressed a switch button on a panel by the door. The shield light lit up, spreading vibrant white light around. Rinoa blinked as she crossed the threshold of her guest room.

"_You will be staying here as long as Laguna permits it_." Started Ward. It hadn't been so long ago that he had gotten a mechanical device attached to his battered vocal cords. The device worked just like normal vocal cords, only his voice sounded quite mechanical and a bit strained. Of course, he had somewhat of a speaker that looked to be stuck on his throat, but he wore a high-necked robe.

"I appreciate the gesture Minister Zabac," began Rinoa, trying to sound like she wasn"t worried sick over the others, "but I can"t stay here. It feels like I'm abandoning everyone in that hole."

"_Not a problem_." Ward consoled with a smile. "_You appear to have the ability to teleport yourself. Why not teleport the others_?"

"Because I did that once with someone," started Rinoa, not sounding very proud for it, "I came out all right, but the other guy was...kind of a mess. Kind of a smelly, gross, bloody, inside-out mess." Ward winced at the thought of that. "Yeah, I know, it wasn't pretty looking."

That didn't really discourage the Minister in any way. "_But you can teleport. As the 'Prime Minister's' guest, you are welcome in the palace_." He snickered when he referred to Laguna as the Prime Minister. "_You are allowed to take what you want from the palace larders and send it to them until we can get a rescue party together. Just don't drain them. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to discuss something urgent with the '**snicker**' 'Prime Minister'_." Ward continued to chuckle as he left down the hall. Before she closed the door to her room, she could have sworn he broke into laughter. It was a little strained and raspy, but still there.

First thing Rinoa did was go right for the floating disk over the desk. Underneath the object was a large, glass circle with a huge mechanical eye underneath it. She pressed a button on the floating disk to discover it was a lamp. How did it stay up there? Magnets? Lazars? Gravity? Sound waves?

The bed, she saw, was covered with a heavy, dark green comforter over light green sheets. There was something faint panted onto the headboard that she couldn't make out. On closer inspection, the bedposts were not of plain design, but had small, vertical ridges running along them. The tips had something faint painted onto them as well. She couldn't find a remote for the TV, so she fiddled around with the buttons. Only, had she gotten as far as getting a picture, did she give up; if it was that hard to work a television, it wasn't worth turning it on, even though she didn't know how to turn it off.

The other door adjacent to the outside hall happened to be a bathroom. At least she could turn on the sink. It was a small bathroom, about five meters long by three meters wide, but just as tall as the bedroom. There was no window in the room, but there were those strange, semi-reflective tiles on the ceiling. To her left was a bathtub, a solid white in colour, with a facet that probably worked via motion detectors. The hot/cold dial was lit up, as well as several other square buttons just under the faucet. There was what looked like a showerhead, but it was positioned so close to the lip of the tub that it would've made it impossible to stand under it, it most likely was one of those nozzles that could be removed from the wall.

While admiring the bizarre room, Rinoa also wondered where they would keep the kitchen in that place. Those she left behind, she couldn't take out of her mind what would be happening to them, and Ward did give her the green light to teleport back and forth. She supposed she could do the same to find the kitchen in that palace, but knew that it would probably cause a panic if anyone saw her. With her method of getting out of the crystal universe, someone most likely would.

§

Bishop had reconciled that it was best to play along with the humans for the time being, just so that they didn't have to worry about any awkward panicking. They had heard the voices of humans all throughout the day. Deacon had been constantly anxious, not knowing what would happen to them. Bishop had reminded him it was okay by stepping violently on his foot.

It had been hours, and hours of waiting, until they could hear only but two human voices. Both of them, they could not identify. Then, suddenly, the voices just stopped. Deacon had gotten a little antsy over the fact that the humans just left them there. Bishop had to agree, but Cardinal was a bit sceptical, as she didn't believe the humans would just leave them down there. It wasn't like they were prisoners; they had fed them and given them shots she knew were inoculations. Even so, they all agreed on getting out. Both Bishop and Cardinal inspected the lock for any possible traps or alarms while Deacon just sat at the back of the cell, looking quite uneasy. One sniff of the air, and he could smell the metallic tinge of blood. It was on the floor above them.

Not long after that, they heard the scream. Forgetting caution, Bishop put his paw on the doorknob and squeaked out a line of Moomba sounds. Electricity fizzled under his paw only moments before he yanked it off. Testing the door, they found it open; though Deacon was hesitant to go, weary of what was going on. Fed up with trying to get him to move, both Bishop and Cardinal ran off, but they knew he would be back, he always came running to them when there was trouble.

It was soon after they ran off, the door closed behind them, that a human woman was in front of the door, looking in at him with a look that was obviously worried. As fast as she came, though, she was gone, running back, towards the smell of the blood. Worried that she was treading on soft rock, Deacon ran after her.

The soft soles of his paws reduced the sound of his running gait, not attracting the attention of the panicked human. The well-polished floor made it rather hard to stop as the human turned a sharp corner. Deacon ended up sliding into the wall.

Stunned for a while, he made out the definite sound of something being punctured, and the smell of more blood. He poked his head around the corner into the room the human had disappeared into, and saw another human being there: a male, dark hair short, standing over a fallen body, a long, thin staff with a huge and pointed head he held, dripping with the unmistakable stench of death. That human was not in a smock or robe like the others, instead, a rather baggy T-shirt with some sort image of a rodent on the back. The only arm Deacon could see at that angle had a bizarre bracer covering his forearm: the end of it was pointed and extended over the back of his hand, with a large orange jewel on it, four smaller, green jewels ran up the rest of the length. He wore dark slacks held up with a loose belt that held five daggers. On his feet, he looked to wear boots, but the cuffs of his pants were pulled over them.

That human┘no, not human; he said something in another language before turning around. Deacon ducked behind the door as he came striding out, turning the opposite direction, back down the stairs. Thankfully, he had not noticed the Moomba, but downstairs was where Bishop and Cardinal probably were, and that┘thing, was heading in that direction!

Before he could go run downstairs, Deacon had to know what that creature was doing there. Inside the tall, long room, its floors such a brilliant polish he could see himself in it; the smell of blood was very heavy, and the cause lay on the floor. A female human, stabbed straight through the middle of her torso, lay splayed across the reflective floor. Her blood spread across the floor like foul smelling cooking oil. Instinctively, Deacon lapped up a single spatter of blood. Just as a dog used his nose to identify a person, Moomba used their taste, the blood was not known to him. Had she been cornered there at the end of that long room? If she had, she would have screamed for help, everything screamed when they were in trouble, but not that human. Had she been hit from behind? He was no detective, but he did notice that the bed she was closest to looked unmade. Jumping on the tussled sheets Deacon smelled them for a recent occupant. It was Squall, but it had a mixed smell of oil and kerosene to it.

Deacon jumped down, intentionally missing the unknown body, he picked up the trail of the known, yet at the same time, unknown scent. It led past the dead human, through the room, out the door┘and down the hall, where that fake human went. Why else did he jaunt down the hall rather fast besides he had something else to do? The thing was after Squall!

Running down the hall, down two flights of stairs, he fallowed the scent of both the mysterious assailant and the sick SeeD. Had he run off when he saw the assailant? Couldn't have been, he was blind; he would have stumbled, left a trail of red footprints, and would have had that assailant chasing after him. He had to have left before that mysterious being was inside the premises. Most likely, he was hiding somewhere; the scent would lead him right to him.

§

He couldn't believe his poor luck. Squall was becoming more talented then what he really wanted. Would he even be able to take him on if the off chance was he was caught shoving the dagger in his back?

Nida actually jumped over the flights of stairs in his way, momentarily slowing down on each floor to get on all fours, and sniff the ground himself. Picking up the scent he wanted, Nida hissed a shrill squeak of excitement, then ran off on two legs once more. His excitement of getting the 'job' done came to a screeching halt as soon as he was at the front door. The two Moomba stared at him with curiosity, then uneasiness as they saw his dripping red pike. Not knowing what a Moomba even was, Nida assumed they were monsters, and had killed the to bisected corpses beside them.

It had been in his best interest to save his strength for Leonhart, but the two orange beasts were directly in his way, and they looked hostile. Nida pointed his pike in front of him, ready for a fight. Both Bishop and Cardinal growled threateningly and curled their lips, exposing their thick, sharp canines, hoping to intimidate the enemy. It seemed the ploy was working, as the human started to back away. Turning his back to them, he ran off past the grand pillars of the lobby into the darkened corridors of the hospital beyond.

The two Moomba relaxed their lips. Bishop turned his head only slightly towards Cardinal; he opened his mouth wide and hissed, showing off his fangs again. He repeated the move in the direction Nida ran. Cardinal gave a sound squeak of reassurance, but he only lowered his head, snout pointing at the ground, a head sign for 'no' in their culture. It was not clear to them why that human was armed, but there was no need to go after him. Squall had been there, they had to go after him. He turned back to Cardinal, and surveyed the bodies. Severed clean in half, with no screams of warning, it had to have happened fast, and done with a very, very, sharp blade. They knew of such weapons like that, but Squall would have been unable to wield it. Had the beast that killed those two people run off with him?

Too busy thinking, neither noticed the dart that came whistling out from behind one of the large pillars. Bishop hardly noticed it as it sunk into his shoulders. Only when it didn't come out did he take any notice. Plucking the dart out from his furry hide, he inspected it curiously. The dart was the size of a wooden splinter, was made of metal, and had a rather strange scent that smelled like sap. Another of those darts whizzed by, but he was ready, dodging it easily. A third came, aimed at Cardinal, but Bishop's awareness alerted her a while ago.

Quickly, Nida ducked behind the huge pillar he had hid behind. The scent he fallowed lead right out that door, he couldn't risk taking another exit for fear of losing the trail. With the two monsters standing guard at the door, he had to get past them, but was uneasy about fighting an unknown opponent, so he did what he did best: attacked from afar with poison until the enemy was weak and he could finish them off easily. Unfortunately, the monster he hit didn't seam to be affected at all. Instead, it hissed a couple of times and swung its huge paw, a glow of pink enveloped him like a shell, fallowed by a shield of blue in front. Both colours dissipated as soon as they manifested, but Nida knew they were still there.

_Two different spells?_ He thought curiously. _I know it's possible to cast up to three spells at a time, but two different spells at once?!_ What kind of creatures were those things?

The second one, the one that appeared slighter and smaller then the other cast a strange type of spell like the glowing green shield of the reflect, though it was coloured red. Nida dared to shoot another dart at the big one, but, as he guessed, the small projectile was deflected by the protect spell it had cast on itself. Bishop locked onto the direction the dart was launched, but he did not move from his spot. Cardinal notice where he was looking. Clearly, they had not scared away the human, and that he was looking for a fight. Squeaking something, she threw her paw forward, palm facing, a great stream of yellow electricity shot out of her palm and hit the great pillar Bishop looked towards. The bolt did not cease like all other magical bolts, but continued to phase away the supporting object as she kept on mumbling and squeaking in a very monotonous manner.

When the bolt had stopped, Nida made a quick dash for the pillar adjacent to him, managing to shoot the slighter Moomba since the big one had the protect on it. Cardinal saw clearly what he was using to launch those darts. He was shooting them out of that bracer of his! Nida ducked behind the pillar before the dart hit, but he was given an unpleasant surprise when he felt the dart sting his own shoulder. Yanking it out easily, he was glad that he was immune to the poison, but had happened? He knew that _blôsif_, the reflect spell; reflected other magics, but what spell reflected a physical blow? While he was pondering the question, the pillar he hid behind blew apart. In the aftermath of the spray, he could see flickering flames through the dust, and no monsters. They had probably run off. Laying on his side on the triangular tiled floor, Nida got up to a sitting position. With the dust nearly cleared, and the flames dying off, all he could see left were the bodies. Estharian doors must have been automated and quiet, because there was one set of bloodied footprints that lead out into the darkness.

_One pair of footsteps..._ Quickly turning around, he held his pike out in front of him, Bishop's jaw clamping onto the pole of the weapon. Nida swung his pike forcefully like and axe. The Moomba was sent careening into another large pillar ten meters away. Contact with the concrete structure produced an instantaneous aura of blue and an audible ping. He still had his protect guarding him, but Nida would take care of that. Standing up, he pointed his pike threateningly at the dazed Moomba.

Still shaken, Bishop managed to stand up, thankful that he had given himself a protect. He had been the one to motion for Cardinal to go after Squall while he stayed behind and distracted the human thing. He knew then that he was not facing a human being, he could smell it. But what was it really after? Growling something, he spread his hand out like he was ripping something apart, and fifteen purple ethereal daggers raced around him momentarily. Before Bishop could cast but one more spell, the distance between him and the human thing was filled by a small, shimmering globe of green, pink, and yellow light. The globe exploded in a shower of brilliant colours, and in its place was a peculiar pixie-like creature. About only half the height of the human pretender, skin the colour of moss; spotted with tiny black dots. The creature was scrawny, yet, with a potbelly. It had but two toes on each of its two feet, and only two fingers on each of its hands. It had a pointed, red nose, and a huge smile, with great, beady black eyes. Its ears were slim and pointed, and its long hair was wiry and black, done up in a very shaggy ponytail. And, on its back, were two huge iridescent gossamer wings, easily twice the size of the insanely smiling creature. With a pitchy giggle, it jumped into the air, twirling around in a mid-air pirouette. Its wings started to shine fiercely until the light engulfed all of Bishop's sight in one intense flash. When the light had faded, he could see that his sight had faded as well. Surprised of his blindness, he was not prepared for when Nida whacked him in the face with his pike.

Sent headfirst into the pillar again, he was, the blow had beem fierce, his protect wiped away with the light. While he was nursing his sore head, Nida readied his pike to impale. Standing right over Bishop, he would have drove the double pointed head into his heart had it not been for a vicious clamp of teeth on his shoulder. Yowling with the agony, he did the only thing he knew how too: tried to get the teeth off of him. Glancing at his attacker, he was frightened when he saw another one of those orange beasts biting into him. Bishop had gotten to his senses and heard the struggle before him. With his smell, he could tell that Deacon was there. He had come back like they knew he would.

Aided by his keen hearing, Bishop ran boldly forward, ramming into the gut of the human thing. All three of them went down, skidding across the floor for several meters, only stopping when Nida's back collided with another pillar.

The taste of his blood was putrid, unlike anything Deacon had ever tasted. Getting his teeth out of his skin and jumping off of him, he looked up to see that Nida's blood wasn't even red, but a pale teal; with a body that was foamy, not syrupy.

Bishop scratched the intruder across the face, leaving four long gashes in its place. The foamy teal blood was all over, and he could smell it now. It was not of anything he had ever smelled. Preparing for a counter attack, the Moomba jumped off of the fake human. As he covered his marred, stinging face with his hand; seething audibly, he swung his pike around wildly. Deacon dodged the sloppy swings easily, but Bishop was unable to see the fast swings coming, so was grazed in the back with the tip, the cut he made was long, but not too terribly deep.

Fearing that he was letting his target get away, Nida made a mad dash for the door. Though, in his hast, and lacking the use of one eye, he did not heed the blood from the bodies. With a yelp, he landed harshly on his back. As Bishop took the time to find the unusual scent of the human pretender, Deacon jumped onto Nida's stomach, managing to wind the SeeD.

Deacon had no idea he was fighting the human pretender. Perhaps it was because he was attacked first, or it was the same murdering pretender that killed those two people at the entrance. Either way, he knew why he was fighting him. The being below him was not only a murderer, but also an alien animal that had to be wiped out before it caused any more problems.

§

Cardinal ran along the desert, fallowing a trail of bizarre tracks. Though she could smell Squall in the dry, rocky earth, she was also getting a scent that was quite inhuman: oil and chemicals. Was something else wrong with him? It made sense knowing that Squall was too feeble to walk far on his own, not alone make the kind of distance she was traveling.

A huge wall, standing many stories above her, marked the perimeter of the city. She stopped only to look at it. It was very smooth, marked by nothing but a few large square windows. Some of those windows had pieces of loose machinery sticking out of them; a few of those pieces sparked and flickered as she neared. A door, shaped like a lopped off triangle, was outlined clearly with a wide metal frame. Cardinal saw that a huge, diamond shaped hole was cut into the metal door. The sides of the hole were at odd angles, but were nearly straight edged. Climbing over the edges of the hole, she was greeted with a lighted, yet empty chamber. The chamber was huge, about as high up as the wall had looked outside, and so wide that she could not see the opposite walls very clearly.

She was standing on a grated catwalk, suspended above a see of giant metal scales, pointing upwards like jagged rocks. The ceiling looked black compared to the blaring white shine of the round light fixtures. Taking a few tentative steps inwards, she came to find little robots scattered around the catwalk: round probe like things, little car like things, two legged arm things, and humanoid androids wearing some sort of suit, and all of them were cut in half at one angle or another. The catwalk forked eventually, but Cardinal stayed on course by fallowing Squall's scent. It was past that first fork that she noticed some of the consoles beside the catwalk were sliced, flickering electricity dancing out of those open, mechanical wounds. Then, she smelled blood, fresh blood. Running forward on all fours, Cardinal eventually halted abruptly at the sight before her: human beings; living creatures, diced, sliced, minced and shorn at all kinds of angles. Some were only cut in half once, but others had the misfortune to be diced several times. Some sliced robots were in the mix as well.

Cardinal stepped lightly onto the puddles of warm blood. Was the fiend that did all that still there? It was that question that drove much of her caution. The smell was so overpowering that it threatened to engulf Squall's scent. Touching a piece of a severed shoulder, she found the flesh was still warm. What had performed the carnage had only been there very recently. Moving down the bloodied catwalk, staring the gory halves of flesh and bone, the path came to a sudden stop eventually, dropping down into the jagged metal scales, the blood still dripping down the sides into the darkness below. The catwalk there had been severed, the other half several meters away, and beyond that was another lopped triangle of a door, with another diamond hole cut into it. Some of the blood spatters got over that far, painting the door read with torn ribbons of crimson. The other end was much too far away for a regular jump, so Cardinal backed up, and with a running start, she jumped across the open chasm, barely grabbing onto the other end with her claws. Her lower half dangling over the edge, she managed to claw her way up by sticking her claws into the tiny holes of the grate. Taking a second to collect her breath, she noticed several peculiar footprints of blood. They looked like they belonged to a crow, but they were much larger, looking like they were big enough to envelope someone's head, and crush it. Those had to be the footprints of the psychotic monster. Cardinal looked over the cut edges of the hole. The corridor glowed with neon lights that were neither flickering, nor severed, but laced in more blood. The wall was decorated in the gore, and the floor was littered with more chopped up bodies. The enclosed area allowed the blood to create a pool a few centimetres deep; Cardinal's toes nearly disappeared in the red goo as she climbed over.

Amidst the wall of metallic pipes, knobs, and glowing buttons of their consoles, were many slash mark in them. No, not just marks, but deep gouges, putting her claw into one, it disappeared into the wall. There were even gouges on the floor and ceiling! Several long lights were cut neatly in twos, threes, and even fours. More electricity sparked from all the pipes and consoles that had been gouged.

A sudden shuddering sound rang about the bloodied mess, causing Cardinal to perk her ears. A door further down, hidden by a slouching body that had lost half of its upper body, the rest of its robe ridden down its waist; exposing the sullied hips, its blood pretty much painting the door it blocked. Cardinal pushed the body aside gently out of respect, then, dug her claws into the tight crack between the doors, prying them apart with her amazing strength. The shuddering sound became more prominent with the barrier open: it was the sound of someone crying.

Wedged in a corner behind a rack of bottles and cartons was a shacking and sobbing human being. A pool of blood had already surrounded the person.

"_Ach grügir_..." a moombaGlassy eyed and shocked, the human stared at the Moomba, never having seen one since the reign of Adel, when they were treated more like beasts of burden. He had treated the Moomba poorly in those days, and in his delirious state, he thought the Moomba in front of him came to take its revenge. The whole attack from the psychotic monster must have been part of their revenge as well!

Cardinal approached the squirming, weeping person.

"_Karn dir orn! Karn dir orn! Ingsir id vnabЭr dir schaild...!_" I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I've learned my lesson...! The frantic struggling of the human exposed that what made him bleed. His left arm, along with half his shoulder, had been shorn off. His robe hung damp with blood, the floor soaked in it, the air hung heavy with the smell from this dying being. If only she spoke the same language as that human, it could tell her what had happened. She brought her paw up to touch the human's face, to assure him that she was not dangerous. It seamed to have worked when the human suddenly went quiet, simply just looking at her. Though, as soon as she saw it wasn't breathing anymore, she resigned back to exploring the mechanical slaughter halls. Not only did she lack the equipment, but she also lacked the authority to perform a funeral right on a savage animal.

§

The streets stood empty. They actually stood empty, but Squall knew where they all were: indoors. While homing in on the one station he wanted, he could easily tap into several others. They were all indoors because of curfew.

_A citywide curfew? What a foreign concept._ Though, not every mind was on the curfew time specifically, just young children and teenagers who were miffed about having to stay indoors, not that it mattered to him, the less confrontation he had, the quicker he could kill Laguna, and the sooner he could get Cloak to shut up.

"..._you know who's laughing at you. You're a goddamn disgrace. No wonder he never came back. He probably left only because he didn't want the responsibility of raising a fucking LOSER. Well, he can't run away from you again, if he's DEAD! HELL, what am I saying? The bastard deserves to die! What sort of dead beat would rather run a whole damn country into the ground then come back and pick up his messes...?!"_

Inside the palace, Rinoa was still trying to locate the kitchen. There wasn't a single robot or human being that could speak any language she knew.

_Dammit! Haven't these people heard of maps?!_

She stopped when she came to a huge window, divided by triangular frames, each pane was a different colour. Looking down through them, she was surprised and horrified at the sight bellow: hundreds of people were down there, many in beds. Blue robed people she assumed were doctors and nurses were walking about, looking at their patients, all attached to odd equipment. Several small floating orbs with thin little arms were floating around as well through what looked like a makeshift infirmary. What had happened to impose such an infliction? What was happening in Esthar that she didn't know about?

Though a light tap she felt, Rinoa still jumped at the sudden touch. Immediately, she swerved around, causing the girl behind her to also jump in surprise.

Back straight against the window wall, Rinoa caught her breath easily once she recognized the girl. "Hello, you must be Ellone." Using Classical Galbadian, she squeaked that statement out rather fast, still a little surprised. Ellone didn't seam to understand her though. Thinking back to when she had met her, she knew that the girl could speak Alcauldian.

She began again, but in Alcauldian this time. "You must be Ellone. Don't quite think we've ever been officially introduced."

The Classical Galbadian accent was a bit hard for Ellone to decipher, but she managed by taking a few seconds to sort it out in her head. "Yes, you are Rinoa. Squall has already introduced you to me." Her Grellian accent was nearly that hard for her to get through, or so it seamed.

"Really? When?"

"...up in the space station."

Rinoa stilled looked dumbfounded.

"You were possessed by Ultimicia. You threw a lot of people around."

"Oh, that space station."

"Yeah, that space station." Ellone spoke that with a little regret in her voice, it wasn't one of her more pleasant memories. "I knew you were here, but I wanted to know why."

"Prime Minister Laguna told you?"

"No, I haven"t seen him all day, really. He's been really busy lately with...stuff...I don't really listen often. Anyway, no, I could sense you coming; interesting story behind that. But I really wanted to show you something." Ellone turned to leave down the hall but Rinoa stopped her.

"First, tell me what that is down there." Demanded the Sorceress, pointing at the window.

"Oh, that." Specified the older girl, looking down into the ward. "The Estharian custom is to not waste space. So the Parliamentary Palace is used as some sort of joint humanitarian service. It changes with every dynasty. The Palace has been an animal shelter, a homeless shelter, a school, a nursery┘.During the reign of Adel, this place was actually doubling as a library."

"Who told you?"

"No one. When I was actually taken by Esthar, I was brought here under Adel's tutelage. She taught me basic Estharian and made me study all her books. The amount she had was mind boggling, and she wanted me to study them **all**! Anyway, a couple head trips later and I was out of there, but it wasn't long before Odine found me." Ellone paused, a disoriented look came upon her. "Never really knew how he knew where to find me, he just did."

"What happened to the books?"

"That's what I want to show you."

§

Minister Nix had set up his telescope on the highest balcony on the palace. It was common occurrence for Ward to tag along. It was Annex Nix who had introduced him to the wonders of astrology; he found the stars looked so much better without the sky in the way. He was just adjusting the telescope as Ward came up to the balcony. Annex was an elderly man: white hair, beard, a healthy collection of laugh lines and crows feet, and a right hand afflicted with arthritis. Modern Estharian medicine was enough get ride of swollen and painful joints, just not permanently, so he had gone in for many treatments for that.

"Oh, you're just in time Zabac," Annex began with smile. "I've got a lovely view of Geb here. Care to take a look?" He stepped aside as Ward looked into the eyepiece. The view was a nice shot of the planet Geb, third planet in their solar system. Their own planet: Inari, was number four, and was smaller then Geb, with but one moon, while the larger had two. Once in several thousand years, that large planet eclipsed the sun; it was said to be awesome and terrifying even more so then the eclipse the moon made. Geb actually rotated on an orbit that was a thirty-degree angle from Inari's, which was why the planetary eclipse was so rare.

The first and second planets were Wara and Bara; twin planets. Bara was slightly larger then Wara, but both looked the same otherwise. Bara had an orbit that made a nearly forty five-degree angle from Inari's, and Wara was nearly seventy degrees. Neither of those two planets had any moons.

The fifth planet was Bronach, separated from them by a thin asteroid belt. A thicker, much more prominent asteroid belt was behind this planet, and it separated those little planets from the gas giants.

"Geb is pretty close." Annex started, "We'll be fortunate enough to see it eclipse the sun in a few more years." Still staring into the telescope at the empty brown, red and black speckled planet, Ward nearly lost the entire view when startled by a loud _thwung_ at the base of the palace.

Their vantage point was positioned right over the carport of the palace, twelve stories up. A steep drop to the ground was right under them, so they could look right down at what the commotion was; it sounded like something had rammed into the garage door. Curious and worried, Annex and Ward both looked down at something. Something did run into the garage door, and it looked to be furiously clawing at the metal. The thing looked white capped, and appeared to have a long, dark cape. Both ministers could hear the squealing of the material give, and then the beast disappeared inside the palace.

"What the hell was that?" Annex inquired, aggravated and scared seeing the thing just 'melt' out of view. The alarm had already been set, but wasn't going off, something was wrong bellow. "I'm going to go tell the patrol about this." The elder man ran off down the balcony stairs in urgency. Thieves who were identified as 'Pro-Adelists' had hit the palace several times, a faction that no one was surprised were around. Though few, Sorceress Adel had her loyal followers, and they always had some new scheme for getting inside the palace.

Ward, though, wasn't so sure it was a Pro-Adelist, but really wished it were.

_Laguna?_ He wondered, horrified at the prospect.

§

The entire Parliamentary Palace basement was filled with books. The ceiling looked like it was held up by books, the floor was so littered with them that it was so hard to see the actual floor. A yellow-scaled chandelier, similar in shape to the one in her guest room, hung above them, reflecting off the golden tiles on the roof and the solid chrome beams.

"We relocated all the books to the basement," began Ellone, "after the First Sorceress War, we wanted to burn them all, but decided against it because they might contain valuable information somewhere."

Curious, Rinoa picked up a large, burgundy hardcover at the top of one pile, and gasped at the title. It was not in Estharian like she had assumed, but Balambese, and was entitled: "Shape Shifting: Art of Tlatzbahda". '_Tlatzbahda'_ was familiar to her, the name was old Balambese, but she could recognize it as the pagan Balambese god of plains and wide-open spaces; said to be able to change into animals.

"We've had some problems with thieves since the Overthrow." Ellone continued. "They all come in to swipe these books. Most of them are gone, but only the Estharian ones. Many of the ones here are in a different language. But I couldn't care if they left only the Estharian and Grellian, I don't want to look at these books anymore..."

"Can I have them?" Rinoa asked a bit too fast. The shape-shifting book spoke well to her since she turned that Forest Bear into a dog. She picked up another book that was in Classical Galbadian, entitled: "Elemental Manipulation".

Ellone turned around to look at the Sorceress, a rather pleased look on her face. "Yes. In fact, when I sensed you coming, that was my initial thought: that you would probably want these books. They could come in very useful to you."

"Yeah, bet they would. Say Ellone, you say you 'sensed' me. Is that part of your 'talent'?"

"Of course. Fortune telling, divination, sooth saying, archaic interpretation, prophecy laying, also known as extra sensory perception."

Rinoa's eyes went wide with a sick realization. "You have ESP?"

Guilty, she looked at first, but Ellone spoke comfort. "Actually, now that you're more knowledgeable in this stuff, I should tell you. I can't push people literally into the past. I just stick a conscious mind, into the subconscious of another. I tell people that I take them into the past because it's easier to understand.

For a while, Rinoa had a blank stare. "Actually, that psychological explanation makes a lot more sense. But if that's the case, how did Ultimicia achieve time compression if she didn't actually go into the past?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But it was probably due to whatever powers she had."

"Uh, huh." The conversation was making her uneasy, what could she say? It was time to change the subject. "So...what other abilities do you have?"

"Oh, I have a little bit of every sort of psychic power: ESP, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Hypnosis, Recording, Connecting, Recession, Distortion, Necromancy, Cognitive thinking..."

"Woah, whoah, I don't even know what half those things you named are!"

Ellone didn't seam taken back from Rinoa's forceful tone. "Oh, well, the book could probably tell you better then me. Now, if only I could find it..." She began to climb through the piles of hard covers and scrolls, her back turned to Rinoa just when Squall's ring started to glow again. Holding the metal up to her face, she looked into the centre of the ring, the violet aura began to merge, and create a pinpoint of a violet star at the very centre of the hole. She moved the star ring away from her face and saw something else shining. Stepping over the books in her way, she looked down at the source of the shining: another book, but a strange book. A completely black cover it had, with a golden spine that actually _looked_ like a spine. The pages were deep violet, so deep, that it looked like it was glowing softly. And, on the front, the piece of metal Rinoa had seen glint, was a very familiar symbol, rather comforting. It was the same symbol Squall wore as a pendent! In the centre of the cameo was a ring shaped depression. The title of the book was written in silver, but it was in a foreign screed: possibly some sort of Trabian script.

Ellone emerged from the back pile with a navy blue book in hand. "Here it is, knew it couldn't have gotten far. Sorry, but it's only in..." she stopped short when she saw what Rinoa was staring intently at, "...Estharian..." Stepping closer, she could see the stylized lion of the odd book, with its odd spine, and its odd coloured pages. "That's one of the books I haven't seen before."

About to add something to the comment, both women were stunned when they heard a blaring siren pierce the stale basement atmosphere.

"Fire?!" Worried Rinoa.

"No! Probably one of those Pro-Adelist thieves! They're always coming up with inventive ways to break into the palace!" Grabbing her hand, Ellone started to drag her out of the basement. "Come on, we shouldn"t be down here when they get here! They"re often armed!"

But Rinoa begged to differ, and shook her hand free of the commanding grip. "Hey! Why the hell should I run?! I'm a bloody Sorceress, I can take on one piddly thief, weapon or not!"

"I don't doubt you can!" Ellone offered hurriedly. "But they do come in groups often, and even though I don't particularly like these books, they're irreplaceable knowledge all of you could destroy in a fight."

"Touché. But can't you use your powers; like you're telepathy or something?"

"No good. In comparison, my powers are weak because they're so varied. Plus, they need to be someone I know!" With the book in Rinoa's hold, both of them ran up the stairs to the upstairs hall. The siren was blaring louder up there, which made it sort of uncomfortable just to have one's ears open. If any of them were to say anything, Rinoa doubted they would be able to hear each other.

_"We should get away from her."_ Rinoa was surprised to actually hear Ellone in the din. "_The guards will be here soon, and it would be best if we weren't in the why."_ Though she said this, her lips weren't moving at all, and the words were a bit hazy sounding. It was telepathy. Pointing out into the brightly lit hall, she did, and Rinoa fallowed. The main floor was composed of a ring system for halls, with the door to the basement in the centre of them. Several mirrors were placed to block off some of the passageways to make more of a maze to detour intruders.

The two of them scrambled up onto the second floor. The floors there were made of the same transparent material like in most of the palace, allowing them to see into the winding halls bellow them. In all honesty, they made Rinoa feel a little queasy, what with always being afraid she'd break the glass like material. The siren continued blaring none the less.

_"Ahi Nungnia!"_ Oh my God! Ellone suddenly shouted telepathically. Before Rinoa could turn around to see what had disturbed her, the older girl shoved her to the ground. She hit the wall with her back, nearly dropping the book. As something whizzed by, a round of lazar shots were fired after it. Rinoa could feel the heat from those beams, and could see the burn holes they made on the far wall as they all missed their target. Whatever they had fired at, it had dodged around a corner. All Rinoa saw was the ends of two tails: one a teal green, and the other a deeper green. With no concern for them, the guards ran after the intruder.

"Well, how rude!" Shouted Rinoa at how they just shot at them and ran off as if no one else was there.

_"It's not their fault,"_ Ellone began. _"Those cyborgs are programmed to only flush out intruders and nothing else."_

_Nothing else? Does that include 'not shooting anybody else in the process'?_ Rinoa wondered if Ellone could read her mind, because she wasn't so sure she could shout over the siren again.

_"Hopefully."_ The telepathist answered. _"I can't read a machines' minds. But Rinoa,"_ her eyes went wide, brimming with an urgent concern, _"I read the intruder's mind."_

_You did?_

_"Only part of it... He's going to kill Uncle Laguna!"_

§

Ward ran down the stairs as fast as he could, huffing and puffing. He saw guards rush by, guns flared before them, yelling out orders amongst them all. Several ministers and palace staff were among them, getting whatever information they could about the sudden alarm. Ward found Kiros among them, talking; or rather, arguing with one of the guards.

Ward interrupted them. "_Can I talk to you?_"

"Not now Ward! The good captain and I are discussing something." Snarled Kiros.

"_Now!_"

"Ward, whatever it is, it can wait!" Furiously, he turned back to his verbal match with the captain.

"_No, it can't!_" Impatiently, he grabbed Kiros by the arm and dragged him away. When they were far enough away, Ward loosened his grip, with Kiros batting it away angrily.

"The hell was that for?" He complained in New Galbadian. "The damn alarm is off, as if you won't notice?! I'm trying to get..."

"_I saw the intruder get in!_" While looking up at him, spellbound and such, Ward continued. "_Nix and I saw him claw his way into the garage. He had a white helmet and a dark green cape, and he didn't trigger the alarm. It was probably Nix who alerted everyone!_"

"That's it?!" Kiros still sounded frustrated. "That's what you grabbed me away for? Some new weapon! They're always coming up with new weapons, dammit! All we have to worry about is if they come to steal something important this...!"

"_Dammit Kiros! Listen, that thing rammed into the garage door! It's probably some sort of monster we've never heard about!_"

"What? A monster? We can't have a mons..."

"_I think he may be Laguna!_"

§

The uproarious siren was but some annoying cricket compared to the ceaseless prattle of Cloak, making sure to stoke his fire.

He knew he was close, he would silence both Laguna and Cloak, but the station he was on was moving around a lot, and his obstacles were becoming more. It would be difficult to get to his target without the use of his sight to spot any intrusion before he wasted time flaying it. He needed a guide, or better yet, he needed Laguna to come to him.

Tuning into the right radio station, Squall was about to send his own signal straight back when he caught something else's. He had never tuned into it before, but he knew it, just like he knew what every frequency he honed in on belonged to.

Changing his direction, he headed lower, after the familiar frequency. Even though it was moving, it was moving in a very definite direction, making it easier to second guess where to head. Squall slashed through obstacles that were walls and even floors. Unfortunately, it was only a floor down that Cloak started to get annoyed.

_"See! You are a worthless fuck shit! You came here to ice your goddamn old man, not rendezvous with the nearest, most pleasant talk show on the air!" _For that moment, Squall attempted to find **her** radio station, but couldn't find anything. Instead, all he could get was that black cloak of an entity, standing alone on a pitch-black snowfield. No sun, moon, stars, or any light shone but the glowing red of her eyes and brow. Her arms were folded against her, hiding her larynx under her black cape. A blizzard raged around her, the snow only visible by the ominous and luminous red. The further he strayed from the coarse she dictated, the more furious her screams, until they came to the point they were much to loud and powerful that they were debilitating. Squall had to stop his running; terrified of the abuse Cloak screeched. Aimlessly, he flailed his hands, knowing full well covering his ears was not good, especially with hands that couldn't do nothing but cut. Cloak stood in the middle of her snowstorm, hissing her curses. As her eyes seamed to grow bigger among the whistling snowstorm, she was suddenly knocked aside, her red spots replaced by darkness. For that moment, Squall was set free from her incessant shouting. He would head towards that familiar broadcast.

§

"You know, this would be easier if we took a lift!" Whined Rinoa as Ellone dragged her through the halls, up to the Prime Minister's office.

"Can't." Ellone huffed. "Lifts are turned off when the siren goes on. It makes it harder for the intruder to escape."

"But the sirens are off!"

"Doesn't matter. Until that assassin is gone, those lifts are going to stay off."

"Then LET GO!" Forcing them both to stop, Rinoa yanked her arm free. "You were so gung ho on getting away from the thieves, now you want to go after and assassin?!"

"I have an obligation to Uncle Laguna!" Ellone argued, looking back angrily. "An obligation to not get him killed!"

"And an obligation to not get yourself killed is not in the mix?!"

"You would do the same for your own father!"

"Not bloody likely!"

"Well, what about your uncle?!"

"He's been dead for five years! And I've never met my aunts!"

"Well, I still have an obligation! Besides, it's not like a killer would simply change his targets, now would he?!"

What horrible timing they had to have the transparent ceiling above them sliced open like plastic wrap, admitting the intruder onto the floor bellow.

Both Ellone and Rinoa could only stare at him with heavy shock, and mild irony. Whoever he was, whatever he was, he wore nothing but a white gown with long, wide cuffed sleeves. The glassy floor screeched as he flexed his bony white talons on it. Though, the talons on his bleached, skeletal crowfeet were not monstrously big, but they did look sharp enough, and strong enough to gut a victim in no time. Behind him, they could see a thin, wispy, pale teal tail sway behind, only a centimetre or so off the ground. His hands were composed of a single, but large, blade, sickle shaped each and freakishly sharp. Most unsettling about him was the head; just an equine like skull with sharp, pointed incisors. The crown of the skull trailed long and greasy hair of deep forest green that trailed lower then his hips.

Sensing a smart remark, Ellone whispered to Rinoa, "don't say anything."

"To you or to him?" Was it even a 'him'? Such a gender-neutral piece of clothing like the gown wasn't enough to go on. Whatever sex, the fiend was emitting a clicking, growling, gurgle. 'It' brought its two hands up, one pointed at Ellone, the other at Rinoa, and they could both see the snotty teal colour of its arms and wrists. There was no line between the wrists and blades that indicated they were some sort of awesome and terrible gauntlet; the teal wrists faded into the bleached white of them naturally. It was very clear that whatever the assassin was, it wasn't human.

It squeaked at them, and the girls ran. Squall had a feeling they would, so he ran after them, gurgling, clicking, and squeaking behind them. He had come down all that way, through ceilings and walls; he wasn't about to let them get away. The hallway was narrow enough that, with his arms outstretched in the ready for a hug, the blades of his hands sunk into the wall as easily as butter, half way to his wrists. The walls squealed at the act of being sliced open mercilessly as he ran after his targets. Hearing the squealing behind them, Rinoa pulled both of them onto the ground, though Ellone was pretty surprised by the act. Squall, not being able to see them, or hear over the squealing, ran right in between them, but didn't get far past, as Rinoa grabbed his cold, dry foot. Face first; he fell, his blades making a rounded scar in the wall as he did so. The girls got up quickly, running away from him while he was trying to figure out how to get onto his feet again. The drawback to having blades sharp enough to cut anything was that they would cut right through the floor. He wriggled on his side, trying to get a grip on something, but every time he tried, he would only gouge the floor some more. What if he withdrew from Strychnine, getting his own hands back? That would be no good: all the creaking, and cracking, and shifting, and tensing, and huffing, and throbbing┘he doubted his original body could even hold his weight up.

Wait, who was he to be worried? He was SeeD! With the help of his trained legs, he flung himself up onto his feet again, and continued to run after the girls.

Ellone spared a glance behind them. "Rinoa, bad news!"

"Don't say that thing got up and running after us!"

"It got up and is running after us!"

"What did I say about saying that?!" The two of them turned a corner quickly, and Squall was unfortunate enough to run into the wall at full throttle, a huge crack forming on it on impact. The collision didn't stop him though, his skull helmet saved him from the shock of the blow.

Neither of them looked behind. The close sounding, clicking squeaks of the freak told them that it was still after them. Squall was on them before they even knew it.

Rinoa swore she saw something before hand. It was so lifelike an image of Squall, just as she remembered he was only about a month ago, before the Sorceress Skirmish, but as he lifted his head, she saw that his eyes were covered by huge gobs of dripping black paint. In front of him, directly aimed at Rinoa, was a sharp and rusted looking spear. The image of Squall opened his mouth, releasing an oozing wave of more black paint as he gurgled and spat the word: "STOP". So real was the image, that she was taken aback, thinking the spear was real, and she slid on the smooth floor, landing on her back. A blade stuck itself in the ground so close to her cheek. Looking up, she was face to face with the skull faced monster; its blade at one side, its foot at another.

The face, Rinoa thought, reminded her much of Strychnine, and it was a frightening thought. Ellone had not seen the image that stopped Rinoa, and had kept on running, not looking back. Even though the monster was standing above her, it was not looking down at her, and the Sorceress had to wonder if it could see her. She also noted the distinctive chin underneath that skull, as if the skull was just a helmet. Odd as it seamed, it gave her confidence, so she attempted to kick it in what she hoped was its crotch. To her surprise, she was actually _not_ surprised to hear the '_shing'_ and see the faint aura of a protect on it, but that out of her foot flung a bright violet bolt of electricity. The creature cackled something around a shriek and a hiss as it was flung away from her. Not sparing a look back, Rinoa scrambled to her feet, the book still in hand. Though, she did look back out of curiosity once she stood up, and gasped at the sight of the creature on two legs again.

Not daring for it to make the first move, Rinoa tried kicking again, hoping for the same effect as before. How fortunate she was, that out of her swinging foot came that same violet electricity in the form of three sparking balls. The balls bounced as they hit the floor and walls, and even as they were batted away harmlessly by the monster. She tried the same move again, but with the same results.

It had plenty of time to charge after her, but instead, just stared at her. It raised its blades in front of itself, and Rinoa felt a familiar tug at her being.

_Is that thing drawing from me?_ It was next to impossible to read one's own pools, so she had no way of knowing what it had taken from her. Before it made a move, Rinoa cast a simple spell of paramagic, not as powerful as her sorceress magic, but good enough. Not needing to say its name, her free hand materialized a small whirlwind on her upturned palm, and flung it at the monster. The whirlwind caught it, and shoved it hard into the wall beside, making an even bigger crack in it.

The move had surprised Squall, but the _kysving_ tornado was not enough to take him out. But at that time when he was just getting up, Cloak came back, her eyes, ears and brow glowing fierce behind the raging snowflakes.

_"What sort of shit is this? What kind of hunter can't keep his prey still? Well...KEEP HER STILL!"_

The shout echoed through him, louder then the shot of lightning Rinoa threw at him.

_"Keep...her...STILL!!"_ Her last word rang throughout his skull, embedding her root-like larynx in his brain. Rinoa couldn't understand why it was that the monster suddenly started to fling its blades about like it was swatting flies. Maybe it didn't like that shot of lightning she threw at it. Could it be that she was beating it? Was it close to giving up? Would she win?

Did her optimism jinx it? The creature stopped its thrashing abruptly, staring forward. It raised a single blade, and in a hoarse, gurgly voice, it spoke: "_Orffring"_ Regan. A sparkly green aura traced about it momentarily before it disappeared. Rinoa stood in shock as she saw the glassy floor crack between it and her. Too fast to react, the floor shattered, but the shards floated upwards, spinning around into a sparkling glass whirlwind they went. Rinoa stood stunned where she was as the shards dispersed directly back at the beast whom, held up its hands in welcome. The jagged pieces tore right into it, bright red blood spat out each and everyone of the wounds, with the shards carrying some into the wall they were imbedded in. Many of the shards attacked its face, destroying the bone helmet it had in a spray of white splinter, green hair, and red blood. Exposed for the first time, Rinoa saw a mop of scraggly brown hair, limp and wet from its own blood. The face looked up, and her heart beat furiously at the face of Squall, his skin all cut up, his teeth blotched and rotten, his familiar scar an ugly black gouge across his face that pulsed with an audible '_thump, thump, thump...'_ His whole face contorted when he looked her in they eye, an indescribable shriek emanating from his throat.

It was the shriek that broke her mind. Rinoa took off in absolute horror, not daring to look back at the twisted visage. What was that monster anyway? If it was some sort of ghost, she could consider herself a goner!

The clacking of its bony feet told her that it had begun to run after her, but she didn't want to look back, didn't want to look back at that horrible, painful face. Trying not to open her eyes, she threw whatever spell she had at the thing, hoping it would stop.


	7. Third Dismissal

25

Third Dismissal

Ward had gotten from under his bed the trusty harpoon he had wielded many times before. Kiros was right behind him, his katal he held dangling from his belt. He wasn't so sure if he was still up to par with them, it had been awhile. It had really been awhile for both of them, but they had to go after the thing Ward had called Laguna; it was something they promised they would do. But where to look? The alarm had gone silent some time ago, so it could have meant that the guards could have already dealt with him. Though, they knew that it was not a probability, given what Laguna knew; what he could do, they even shuddered to think of facing him themselves. Most likely, the guards were dead.

§

Ellone ran in a blind panic, all the way up the stairs. Halfway up did she feel the violent tremor: a force that rocked the walls and bent the stairs beneath her. It felt like a quake had come at them, but she knew that the city was well prepared for quakes; it was another tremor from Dr. Odine's lab!

_Dammit! Of all the appropriate times…_ She stopped her thought trail cold when she looked down the stairs, and noticed for the first time that Rinoa was not behind her. When did she lose her? She didn't know that answer. Did that monster get her? She didn't know the answer to that either.

"Rinoa!" She called down the stairwell. "Rinoa!" Ellone was almost ready to head down the stairs to find her, but stalled at the sound of an awful, inhuman gurgle along with many numerous crashes and cackles, and she remembered the monster. Afraid for her life, she ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

It was to her great relief that she spotted Kiros and Ward down the hall. Most likely, they were drawn to the ruckus and inhuman din as well.

"Ward! Kiros!" She yelled as she ran up to them, giving Ward a big hug for comfort. The big guy wrapped his arms around her with concern.

"Ellone?" Began Kiros, wondering what she was doing there. "Did you see the intruder?"

"Yes! It's fast, and it's inhuman!"

"Explain?"

"What's to explain?! It had green skin, a tail, skeletal bird's feet, and microfilament blades for hands!"

"_Listen Ellone,_" started Ward, putting his hand on the trembling girl's shoulder's, "_have you seen Laguna?_"

She looked at him with confusion. "Wha? Uncle Laguna? I haven't seen him since last evening, he's been that busy. Why do you…?" She stopped at the realization of what Ward was getting at. Her powers only worked on those she knew. Since she read the monster's mind, she had to know it personally.

The realization hit her like a wet fish. "Oh dear Holy Hyne in Heaven! I didn't think it could happened that fast!"

"Well, he has started to mutate already," interjected Kiros.

"Well, yes, but I didn't think it happened that fast!"

"_Hey! Ice the chat!_" Ward scolded as he started to run down the hall. "_We've gotta neutralize Laguna before he tears up the city!_"

Ellone noticed where he was heading, towards the noise that she feared. "Wait! You aren't seriously going that way are you?"

"Well, it's not like he'll come to us!"

"But, he'll dice you on the spot! I've seen what he's done to solid walls! I've got a better idea."

§

She ran until she couldn't any more. It was to a dead end. A lift was in the middle of the rounded corner, but it was locked down. Obviously, it still wasn't working. Above her was a circular opening into a transparent tube the lift was supposed to get into. If she could, she would jump into the hole and scurry away, but she doubted that was possible, and she was also out of time.

The skull-faced beast was in front of her, hissing and gurgling. It slashed its blade hands before it in a show of intimidation before it would most likely pounce on her.

_Did any of the spells I threw at that thing work?_ Rinoa thought with panic. It was truly a powerful monstrosity.

As for Squall, he could read the panic in her mind, and he loved it. He raised his blades in front of him, but he would not kill her, just scare her. Though, before he could do that, he felt a heavy weight fall on him, forcing him onto his back. His wrists were held tightly by something, most likely hands. He was strong enough to fight against them, but the hands were strong themselves, so he could only move them so far. He wriggled his hand up and down, cutting into flesh with shallow thrusts. Someone was indeed holding him down. His mind tuned into the station, but it was not Rinoa who was holding him down. It was…

Rinoa had been cast into a momentary state of shock as Minister Zabec had come shooting out of the tube above her and pinned the monster, a large harpoon was laying on the floor where it clattered. Even though the larger man had the beast by the wrists, the huge blades of its hands were still long enough to cut scathe him.

Someone calling her name from above interrupted her thoughts. It was Ellone with a dark skinned man: Minister Seagill.

Minister Seagill held out his hand for her. "Sorceress!" Rinoa took it with no question, and he hauled her up into the tube above.

"Thank Hyne you're all right." Ellone began when she was pulled up into safety. "I thought Laguna had gotten you." She spoke in Alcauldian.

"Laguna?" Rinoa asked, still not fully swallowing the situation. "Prime Minister Laguna?"

"We'll explain somewhere else." She answered, starting to crawl back through the tube on all fours, with Kiros close behind her.

"Wait! What about Minister Zabec?" Asked Rinoa, sparing one final glance below.

"Don't worry about him." Ellone assured her. "Ward can take care of himself." The three of them crawled down the tube, not completely assured that Ward could handle himself.

From below, his upper body covered in many tiny scratches, Ward managed to throw the monster into the wall. He starred at its bleached bone face as it slumped into a sitting position, its impossibly sharp sabre hands sunk into the floor like mud. From the floor beside him Ward lifted his harpoon, both hands clasped it firmly as he watched his friend intensely, bracing himself for Laguna's 'special' ability. Though, when the monster rose to its feet, he received nothing. Taking that precious opportunity he knew he would never have again, he slashed the monster across the abdomen with the tip of his weapon.

The monster cackled some odd shrieking hiss as dark green blood oozed from the wound. It flailed its blade hands uselessly, either in attempt to hold its wound but knowing it would only cut it more, or simply trying to dice Ward in the process.

At that time, he was certainly expecting Laguna to counter attack with his ability. But again, that did not happen. Both of them, though, were rewarded with a shock as the ground shook with another tremor, throwing the two of them off balance.

_Odine! Not now!_ Ward scolded inwardly as he got up onto his feet, collecting his discarded harpoon.

Squall had, unfortunately, landed on his stomach, the pain of the wound giving off an unpleasant surge as it radiated from it. It had been fortunate that he had cast a 'regan' on himself. So slowly, the wound was healing itself, but not very fast. Instinctively, he tried to use his hands to get himself up, but the blades cut right through the floor; there was no grip. Though, his unspoken plight was rudely answered as he was, alas, rudely yanked backward, his blades scathed an even longer furrow in the floor. Wedged, he was, between a heavy body and a strong metal bar. His arms were held firmly at his sides as the bar squeezed down on his freshly healing abdomen.

Flexing his wrists up and down, Squall found that he was defiantly able to cut something. Ward winced as the blades cut his legs and hips, cutting off shallow, but wide patches of skin. Looking down on the floor, he could see the bloody ponds of the patches, as well of the pieces of cloth that came off with them. All that time, he was still expecting the real blow from Laguna's powers, but it still wasn't coming.

_What's holding you back Laguna?_

Struggling against he vice grip, Squall flailed his tail furiously, hitting his captor's legs. Ward would flinch and stagger at the force of the blows, but the tail itself was not strong enough to take him down. His face was right up against the cold, greasy hair of the monster. The smell threatened to knock him out; Laguna smelled like he had been swimming in a vat of toxic chemicals. Knowing him, he would do it, though, not intentionally.

When Cloak came back, she was standing in the snowstorm again, her eerie red brows and bottomless eyes bored into Squall's very soul as he struggled against Ward. Abandoning his tail lashing and skin slashing, Squall turned to the bar that held him, swivelling his right wrist as far as he could, and started to whittle away the metal with the back of his blade. It was a slow process, as his movement was so limited. Though, it unnerved Ward as he saw over the beast's shoulder how it was whittling away the metal harpoon like cheese.

The anxiety he felt was subdued very quickly when they were hit by another one of those violent tremors. The force sent the two sprawling forward. Squall landed on his blade; fortunate it was only the flat of it. Though, it was still an uncomfortable position. Ward lay on top of him, the left blade of the monster just barely missing his leg, but he was successfully pinning it to the floor.

As bad luck had it, the power went out.

§

Rinoa was about to create one of her lanterns when Kiros branded a glowing green medallion. The pendent was long and cylindrical. The rounded walls of the tube shone slightly with the soft light, reflecting the three of them in the glass like membrane. Rinoa was, of course, behind the group. Kiros had led them on a steady level path for a while, but came to several emergency ladders. It was clear they were heading up.

She asked her question in Classic Galbadian. "Why're we heading up Minister Seagill?"

"Because," he began, "we're heading towards a 'weaponry closet'. We may need a ranged weapon. And what piddly paramagic I know won't work." Another ladder had come up in front of them, and he started climbing. "How did your magic work?"

"He deflected some of my spells. But I didn't see most of them, I had my eyes closed as I was running away."

Kiros chuckled at the thought. "And I thought only Laguna would be that careless; not looking at your enemy when you're attacking."

Rinoa was very offended by that comment. "It wasn't my fault!" She scolded, still speaking in Galbadian. "He changed his features before my eyes, and it looked terrifying! Okay!"

Kiros stopped his climbing, thinking about something for a moment. He turned his head to better look at Ellone.

"_Kini Rinoa: Nami li umini kulato li munkama._"

"_Buíma?_" Ellone looked down at Rinoa, puzzled, and spoke in Alcauldian. "But Laguna can't use telepathy."

"Yeah, okay," Stammered Rinoa, trying to understand what she meant, "You said that it was thinking about killing Laguna. So, why do you think this thing is Laguna, if it wants to kill the guy of the same name?"

"Don't change the subject."

"You mean the Telepathy subject?"

"Yes, that one."

From above, Kiros tapped a few buttons on a small panel, but the sliding door at the end of the ladder did not budge. He cursed when he remembered that the power was out anyway. A latch was placed on the door for manual opening, but when he pulled it, he found that it would not budge. The door was most likely jammed shut. Trying with all his might, it just wouldn't budge.

A snapping sound churned from the frozen gears, and the door slid open by itself with a snap. Kiros looked out and nearly fell off the ladder onto the girls. If Rinoa's sudden outburst wasn't a hint, then the person standing before him told him what he had hoped for with all his faith.

Laguna stood right above him, smiling as if nothing was happening.

§

Squall jerked his head forward as he picked up Laguna's station. It was close, possibly only a hundred meters of so. Unfortunately, it was a bit further up, so he had a bit of a problem.

From what the radio was airing, he knew that the lifts were not working, and he would be unable to traverse the tubes. But the radio was also saying they had stairs, opened only in emergency situations, he just had to find them. It would not be hard; he could hear Cloak give him directions.

§

"But, where were you?" Kiros whined in Galbadian, now peeved at Laguna once he learned he was okay.

"I got stuck in the bathroom on the seventh wing."

"Again?"

"Yeah, that place is a death trap."

"Then why do you use it?"

"It's closest to my office."

"You mean the living room."

"You say tomato, I say potato."

_I'm not even going to argue that._

While Kiros and Laguna were discussing/arguing over the appearance of the sabre beast and what weapon to use, Rinoa got the chance to talk to Ellone.

"You owe me some answers mate." She asserted, grabbing Ellone by the shoulder and forcing her to look her in the eye. "While the Minster and his Prime Minister argue the obvious, now's as good a time as ever to tell me what the hell is shaking with you all!"

Ellone looked a little regretful, but began anyway. "I told you about my psychic powers, didn't I. The term for people like me is Echo Hosts. My ancestors were a failed experiment by an extraterrestrial race we know only as 'Professors'. In our DNA, we have a bit of nucleic acid; real nucleic acid in our blood, not the sub-atomic stuff." She paused then, trying to discern how to continue. "I am an Echo Host, and so is Uncle Laguna. Though, he doesn't have a bunch of skills like me, he's completely Telekinetic, but a very powerful one."

"You saying that the Prime Minister can move things with his mind?"

"Damn straight, and he's very good at hiding the fact. You see; Echo Hosts in the past have been as well received as Sorceresses. In fact, some Echo Host women were mistaken for Sorceresses, while the men were condemned as servants and possessed slaves."

"That doesn't speak well for you." Interjected Rinoa. "You did make it known you had problems controlling your "skill" when you were asleep."

"Yeah, my powers are so weak, I can't even properly contain them. Thankfully, only Odine and Adel got wise without me telling them. You know that tomb we put Adel in?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"The technology was only good enough to stop all magic and even projectiles. We kept the fact that Laguna was responsible for largely holding her dormant ultra hush-hush. The only ones who knew were Ministers Kiros and Ward, myself, and now, you."

"Adel was an Echo Host?"

"Well, I'm not sure why, but only female Echo Hosts can become Sorceresses. What became a Sorceress before us, I don't know. So you would have had some sort of skill. It's probably more powerful now that you are a Sorceress, but you would probably have some of the other skills as well. What made you ask?"

"The overwhelming urge to throw a wrench in your engine. Did it work?"

"No. Not really."

Rinoa took all that information in. It was surprisingly easy to swallow, and made more sense to her. _So, only female Echo Hosts can become a Sorceress._ In Galbadia, the general theory was that baby girls born under the full moon were the only ones who could become a Sorceress. Those young girls were actually killed in older times. In the Timber territories, baby girls born under a new moon could become a Sorceress. In Balamb, only a virgin girl who was born under the harvest moon could become a Sorceress, and the Alcauldian belief was that a virgin girl who was born during a lunar eclipse could become a Sorceress. Either way, it always had something to do with the moon. Only in Trabia, did it have to do with the sun.

"Still," started Rinoa with an inkling of vocal doubt, "that still doesn't explain why you thought Prime Minister Laguna was a monster?"

"It comes from our catch twenty-two. The nucleic acid is so alien to our organic bodies. Most of the times, it just clumps up into a harmless rock I've come to call Shadow Stones, Spirit Stones, Storm Stones, Fire Stones, Water Stones, Wind Stones, Life Stones, yada yada yada…depending on the colour. But when it does meld with our DNA, most notably in the brain, our body will start to reject the stuff. When the brain does most of the rejecting, we can go crazy. We call it the Blight, and it is less then merciful. When I get it, I don't expect to get a mild case of neurosis. But, if the body does most of the rejecting, and it often does, we mutate. It happens at different times, but always, always, before the age of fifty. Then, the Blight comes anyway, so there's no way to escape our fate."

Rinoa didn't get why she should be so afraid. "So, fight it."

"It's not anywhere near that simple. I can't tell my body to fight the mutation any more then I can tell my heart to stop beating. And no amount of willpower can stop the inevitable psychosis. Once the brain is tampered with, it's tampered with."

"So, your fate, and the Prime Minster's fate, is to become a monster and then go psycho."

"Or vice versa. Uncle Laguna has already begun to mutate. When I heard of the sabre monster, I feared Laguna had finally fully mutated. When Kiros told me it could have been Laguna, I didn't worry about the fact of it actually _wanting_ to kill him, as the Blight has a notorious habit of hitting fast after the full mutation, so he could have already lost it."

"Will I…mutate as well?"

"As a Sorceress, you should have full control over your mutation, and even when it happens. As for the Blight, you may or may not be exempt. The fact that other Sorceresses went crazy could just be a nasty corruption of power; I don't know that much, but the book Adel wrote could be able to explain more."

"Then she must have written a hell of a lot. You seam to have told me a mouthful."

"Believe me. Compared to the book, I've told you nothing."

Laguna emerged from the closet, holding up a burly silver gun that was most likely some kind of cannon. "EUREKA!" He shouted. A green glowing pendent like the one Kiros had was around his neck as well.

"Give me that!" Demanded Kiros, yanking the cannon out of his raised hands. "I don't trust you with a thermal cannon! And besides, you don't even need a weapon!"

"Hey! I'm still trying to keep a low profile here! Besides, I still have my sanity!"

"Like hell you do! Consider yourself the luckiest damn Echo Host on the planet, because you already act like a lunatic to me!"

"Yeah, I am lucky. And I feel lucky enough to have that thermal thingy." Laguna made a grab for the cannon, but Kiros held it out of his reach.

Rinoa looked at Ellone as she stood beside her. "Minster Seagill knows about the Prime Minister?"

"As his two closest friends, Kiros and Ward have known for a long time, like I've said before, they knew it was him holding Adel up. The woman in Winhill, Raine, she knew, too, but she was an Echo Host as well. I think the woman, Julia, was one also."

"Julia? My mother was an Echo Host?"

"Sure. Your father could have been one as well, but it only takes one parent."

_My old man?_ "How many Echo Hosts would there be in the world right now?"

"Hard to say, but I wouldn't say a lot. The Echo line has been diminishing over the years, and more and more are becoming simple Echo Carriers, with their stones."

"Look at THIS!" Laguna was now holding up a very slender, shiny green sniper-like rifle.

"Fine!" Snapped Kiros. "Use the photon plasma sniper! But do us all a favour and don't aim at any of us!"

"Since when have I ever aimed a gun at any of my buds?"

"You shot me four times during the war. And you shot Ward seven times! Why you weren't discharged is a mystery!"

"Well, at least it wasn't intentional. You know, it could have been more times, but I stopped most of them, I did."

"Yes, yes, you're a saint! I just hope Ward gets up here soon. I last saw him fighting the sabre beast."

"How did that go over?" Laguna asked curiously, but there was no time to answer as the a square shaped hole in the wall was cut faster then any of them realized what was happening. As the mutilated wall collapsed onto the transparent floor, the sabre beast jumped in, sharpening its claws in preperation for the kill. It was covered in blood, but there was no way to know from whom, or how many victims it had.

Cloak had been right. There were four people in the room, but she only pointed to one in particular. "_IT'S HIM!"_

Squall lifted his head as if looking at the ceiling. Then, spoke in clear Galbadian, his voice hoarse and gurgling. "_I got bone to pick with you Prime Minister!"_ It was hard to catch, but Rinoa's trained ear knew an Alcauldian accent when she heard it, especially such a heavy one.

The sabre beast turned to him, facing him directly as it held its sabre hands out in front of it, hissing and squeaking.

Laguna fired at it, the photons a great streak of white that whistled as they fired. Rinoa didn't know who was responsible for not hitting the beast: Laguna for being simply a lousy shot, or the monster for being so nimble.

The sabre beast leapt high into the air, ready to come down on its target. Reflexively, Laguna held his gun up in front of him. Though, the monster was batted away by some invisible force, slamming it into the wall. The force broke luminaries in the process, and the monster defiantly looked stunned. Taking that opportunity, Ellone dove for the closet and grabbed a gun at random. It was black, and had a two pronged barrel. She fired a stream of bright blue electricity at the beast. The stream danced as it held onto its target, illuminating the room with it's added eerie blue light. The beast emitted its cackle of pain, lying limp against the wall when the stream ceased. Its body was smoking with the heat, but the monster got to its feet. It was interesting to see it stand up without the use of its hands; it merely tucked its feet underneath it and stood up!

Kiros fired a thick stream of heat, barely luminescent in the near darkness, only visible by the heat it radiated and its ghostly maroon beam. It sounded like a gas stove was turned on. The wall it touched was seared and melted, but the monster leapt clear of it, aiming for Kiros. It brought its hand down quick, slicing the thermal cannon right down the middle. Kiros was expecting a counter attack on him, but the monster went straight for Laguna again.

An invisible fist, sending it sailing several meters away, decked the sabre beast. During that time, Kiros grabbed another gun: a red one with a thick, but slender barrel that was bearded, containing five holes. Ellone fired her lightning gun at the monster again, trapping it in its beam as the beast hissed and cackled in agony.

Staying on the side lines, Rinoa reminisced over the fights she had had before, the fights that always seamed to be so far ahead of her, the ones that made her feel weak. It also disgusted her that, once again, she was on the side lines, watching others fight and worrying if they would even be there by the time it was over.

_Dammit! I can do this!_ She was a Sorceress anyway. But the monster had the ability to deflect small spells, and she was concerned about injuring the other three with anything bigger. Then she looked at the two sheered haves of the thermal cannon on the floor. Was it possible to put the halves back together? She surprised herself before; she could do it again.

Ellone had stopped her lightning stream, only to have the sabre beast swiftly cut the thing in half. Rinoa dove for the dissected cannon. The halves snapped back into a whole as she put them together. Momentarily proud of herself, she was actually shocked by how her hand melted into the gun, but she was not afraid, just curious as to how it would get off. The cannon didn't feel nearly as heavy as it had looked, and the knowledge to use it seeped into her brain.

The guns were a definite problem to Squall, but Cloak was pointing out each and everyone for him to cut.

Leaping into the air once more, he readied his spell. "_Orfrsvid_" He yelled, curing himself of many of the wounds the guns inflicted on him. Thankfully, they did not use any bullets or other physical projecta. Squall drew magic from Laguna first.

_**Rongsvid**_ [Firaga, _**Ettr**_ [Protect, _**Srotta**_ [Confuse, _and…__**Ollþi**_ [Triple Gladly, Squall drew a number of the spells first before he drew one spell to cast on himself. A ring of glowing pink spear points danced around him before they dissipated.

Quickly, he checked Ellone's pool. _**Srotta**__, and…__**Arþrifusa**_ He took the meltdown, and his croaking voice chanted: "_Ollkvirtinga_!" [Tri-pulsar!

Neither of them knew what was going on when a glowing band enveloped itself around the sabre beast's waist, shooting out three thick, hot, and bright beams that circled around the monster slowly, nuking everything in their path. Aimed at the floor, Kiros and Rinoa were completely out of the beam's path; only Ellone and Laguna were hit. When the spell faded, Ellone was badly nuked, her hair was a thin matt, and her skin was a vile bloody, blistering paste, but she was still alive. Laguna, though, didn't even look like he was hit. Not even the use of the magic subduing powers of a shell could hold back all the effects of a meltdown! How did he block that direct hit? Ellone's words came back to her, and she had to wonder if Telekenisis could block magic.

Ellone got to her feet, shaking at her knees and nearly dropping diced gun.

Her voice was so soft with the pain, Rinoa could barely hear her as she spoke. "_Usalirae._" [Curaga She was wrapped in the bright light of what Rinoa knew was a curative spell, and an advanced one.

_Ellone uses GF, too?_ It was the only way she could have used such an advance curative spell.

_Sis has a Guardian Force!_ Squall was amazed. Her station betrayed that knowledge too him, but he wasn't the least bit interested. Though Laguna; he had one himself.

"_Like that matters to you!"_ Shouted Cloak amid the snowstorm. "_He can't summon if he has no head!"_

Squall slashed away at the Prime Minister, trying to behead him while he was still sailing through the air.

"_KILL HIM! KILL HIM 'TILL HE'S DEAD!"_

Laguna aimed his gun at him just as the blades were brought down on his wrists. He didn't feel any pain, and didn't even know anything was wrong untill his hand fell off, along with the front half of the gun.

"Oh tripe. What do I do now?" He spoke out loud, holding up the freely bleeding stubbs of his hands. He was shoved to the ground as Squall jumped on him feet first, his talons squeezing into his prey firmly. Laguna yelped as his shoulders were punctured, a bad move as it told the beast exactly where his head was. All else held still as Squall raised his right sabre over his head.

"FEEL MY PAIN!" He shouted hoarsely, Cloak smiling evilly as Squall brought the sabre down. His target was sparred his head when he was hit square in his side by the thermal cannon. The extreme heat had him hissing wildly in time with the searing wound it created.

Rinoa lowered her weapon, still attached to her hand as she stared in stricken horror at what she had done. She had shot the monster, and she had made it cry. Would the fact that it was going to kill someone else make it justified? The wound was much more heinous then severed wrists and a severed head ever would be, for the thermals of the cannon struck a burn that tore away cloth, skin, possibly fat, and a thin layer of dark green muscle. The ribs were clearly showing, with blistered green muscle. She had seen monster bones before, and the ribs, illuminated by the glow sticks clearly indicated they were not black. That thing was not a monster by technical definition! What was it?

While Squall tried his best to tend to the gruesome burn, Cloak started to demand otherwise.

"_It's just a flesh wound! Now get the job done right you bastAAAH…?!"_ She was knocked aside again. That time, accompanied by a very harsh sounding, yet surprisingly fragile, squeaky voice.

"_Fuck off!"_ It yelled, and by the glow from Cloak, he could clearly see the skull face of Strychnine. He honestly didn't know her vocabulary was that vulgar.

Confused as to what was happening, Squall eased up with his talons, jumping off of Laguna and starting to scratch the floor as he hissed and squeaked. With one half of her gun, Ellone slammed it against the beast's head. Though, he was not knocked unconscious, it was still enough of a nuisance, what with Cloak and Strychnine engaging in combat in his own head. The young Guardian Force had her bony coils wrapped around the black cloak, each one biting and scratching each other, not bleeding, but sparking electricity. Cloak's electric blood was red, while Strychnine's was lime green.

Laguna shoved Squall away with his mind again, ploughing him into the wall harshly while he was preoccupied with the mental struggle. Cloak had finally left the battle, beaten and bleeding, but would be back. Strychnine was left in the darkness and the snow, but Squall knew she was still there, as battered as Cloak was, but victorious as she stood her ground, though weary the fight had made her. She could no longer handle Squall being junctioned to her.

Squall slumped to the ground, for he had been beaten also. The burn wound stung something fierce, the lightning from the gun had more punch then he cared to admit, the telekinetic punches he endured were devastating, and his mind was weary from its struggle.

Laguna stood up, small trickles of blood stained his white dress shirt from the talon wounds, but his feet were drenched from that which poured from his wrists, he already fealt the weakness the loss brought along. AS he lifted the limp monster up with his mind, he forced the arms to cross themselves in front, with the deadly sabres being placed dangerously near the beast's neck. The stricken creature was pulled closer for both Laguna and Ellone to inspect it closer, even Kiros and Rinoa go closer to gaze at that skull mask in the green glow.

The blades weren't nicked in the least from all the fighting, but Rinoa could see the marks from the spells that had been bounced off them.

All four of them nearly scattered in fear when they heard the cracking sound, but stood their ground as they looked at the blades, cracking like dried mud, splintering apart and disintegrating before their eyes. Hands; frail looking, human hands were left in their place. The bones of the bird-like feet cracked and vaporized. What was left was still hidden under the rim of the robe, and smothered in darkness. The tail shrivelled and disappeared into ash. Finally, the skull mask gained a crack down the middle, splintering into two halves that fell off and evaporated into mist, the green hair it held blew off into the air and disappeared as well. Leaving the head of what was the monster: the colour was hard to tell by the green light, but it was limp, and hung over the face.

Laguna stepped up to the revealed human being. Under the chin, he placed his hand, lifting the face up. It looked like it was asleep. Finally, he put his luminescent pendent up to it, illuminating the identity of the person.

At last, they saw who had attacked them, who had tried to kill Laguna, who they fought…Squall's identity was finally barred.

"I knew it!" Rinoa shouted.


	8. Rinoa's Choice

8

Rinoa's Choice

All Cardinal had to do was fallow his scent, and she was taken to the door of a huge garage, a lopsided diamond shape was cut into it, much like those holes cut into the metal doors by the city gate. Squall and whatever abducted him had gone though there, they had to have; Cardinal could still pick up both their scents. Jumping inside the garage, she hoped she wouldn't cause much of a stir with the local security.

The walk was actually harder on Bishop and Deacon. When they rendered Nida unconscious, they did not bother to stick around to finish him off. If he lived, it was up to the local authorities, they had to go after Squall. They could smell the three scents: Cardinal, Squall, and that third scent, as well as a couple sets of footprints. One was obviously Moomba, and the second looked to have come from a large bird.

Clearly, their direction was marked before them, but the pace was slowed with Bishop. Deacon couldn't understand what was wrong; out of the two, he was the biggest, the strongest, he should have been able to catch up to him easily. The younger Moomba figured the fight had tired him out, until Bishop collapsed on the sand, squeaking pitifully as he held his aching stomach.

Deacon rushed over to his older companion as he writhed on the ground. He whimpered, and Bishop answered that whimper by throwing up.

The older Moomba was sick. But how was it that a perfectly healthy Moomba could make such a slide of health? The strange un-human! Those darts he shot were indeed poisoned. The fantastic immunity of the Moomba was enough to hold the poison at bay for a while, but not diffuse it. The poison would have to have been strong to begin with!

Panicking, Deacon attempted to get Bishop to his feat, but the pain the poison brought made it difficult for him. He was only able to get a few feet before he would collapse again. With a squeak and a wave of his arm, the younger Moomba cast the esuna on him: an amazing spell that cleansed the body of all impurities, or at least, most of them. The esuna did not work on him! Deacon did know that the esuna was only effective against animal poisons, not plant poisons. If Bishop was infected with plant poison, they were both in trouble!

A wall and a city skyline were coming into view of the one o'clock sky. Would they make it? Bishop was already looking pretty low. The only option left for Deacon was to carry him. Being the lighter of the two, that would certainly be a task.

Despite the obvious, he draped Bishop over his back and continued his trek. Hopefully, the inhabitants of the city were more welcoming then when he was last there.

§

The palace 'hospital' had received their wake up call. Out of the chaos that night, seven were sent to emergency, thirty-five were sent to the morgue across town. The palace guards had been killed; cut down where they stood, it was harder to piece some bodies correctly then others, only four of them were alive when help arrived. Out of the fifty or so cyborgs the palace had, not one of them was found in tact, and only two were barely functioning.

An automated stretcher carried a barley conscious Laguna into the emergency ward, flanked by two doctors and a very anxious, yet conservative, Kiros.

"See, I told ya it vas a good idea to put a hospital here." He quipped in his weak, euphoric state, waving his bandaged stubs for wrists around.

Kiros didn't want to argue with him at that pressing time. "Yes, your very smart."

"An you…know…it."

Four more automated stretchers carried patients in. A guard without his leg, another with his left cheek and nose cut clean off, another with no left ankle and right leg, and a fourth with a long gash cutting her spine at an angle. The stretchers moved on a magnetic track that had been there for decades, and they glided smoothly through the corridors as the doctors rushed to treat them. Another stretcher came in, and it carried Ward, nearly drained of all his blood, several small puncture wounds on his shoulder and head, several slices off his legs and hip, and a wicked slash mark that nearly cut him in two at the waist. Two doctors and a hospital drone, similar in model to Sadi, flanked him. Behind them came another stretcher, it carried a sickly looking patient in a singed and tattered white robe, an ugly burn at his side that exposed naked bone and raw meat. A nurse constantly kept a wet compress to the burn as to shield it from infection, while a doctor held an oxygen mask to his face. Behind them ran Rinoa and Ellone.

The train of stretchers disappeared behind double doors, so the two girls stopped running. Besides a few nurses and drones, only them and Kiros were left in the room. Out of those three, the latter sat down on one of the chairs while both girls remained standing, staring at the doors to the ER.

"What the hell just happened?" Rinoa finally asked, spellbound. She spoke in Galbadian.

Ellone asked another question. "Squall had a Guardian Force. Didn't he?" She spoke that in Alcauldian. Surprised, Rinoa was, to her sudden question, but she remembered that Ellone was probably reading her mind at best guess.

"You know something!" She snapped, forcing Ellone up against a wall. "Don't tell me you don't know anything! Because I know you know, now tell me what you know!" As she stared at the girl, she saw something in her eyes; small sparks egnited on irises of wire like uniformity. The essence of her GF.

"Well, of course I do! I made it clear that there's a lot about an Echo Host that can't be explained in one shot!"

"Then spill!"

"Fine." Easing up her interrogation look, she let Ellone get her back away from the wall. "Odine didn't discover GF, they were around long before..."

"How long?!"

"I don't know! But Echo Hosts have been making use for them since the infancy days. We called them Guardians, but Guardian Force is good enough. My Mother would always say that a Guardian was 'good for the sanity'…anyway, we kept it a secret until Odine made their existence public."

"So?! What does that have to do with Squall looking like a Strychnine fanatic?!" In her anger, she neglected the fact that Ellone did not know the name of his GF.

"When Odine made his findings public, I thought they would not catch on because we all thought only an Echo Host could use a Guardian Force! But that didn't seem to be the case!" The girl was nearly in tears. "After I read Adel's notes, I did my own research. Guardian Forces originated from the same substance as what made us Echo Hosts. Whereas it was only possible for an Organic to have a GF junction to them, an Echo Host could junction to a GF!"

_Junctioning to a GF?_ Rinoa wasn't sure if she understood.

The next she spoke, she wasn't as forceful. "Junctioning to a Guardian Force? How?"

Ellone wiped the tears from her eyes. "Think of junctioning like you would a sheet of music. A normal, organic person, and an Echo Host; are the bars and lines. The GF are the notes. For an Organic, the notes are played accordingly, as well as for an Echo Host. BUT, what happens if you play the notes backwards?"

"You get an entirely different song."

"Exactly."

"…That still doesn't make much sense."

"Well… that's the only metaphor I've got. So I doubt Adel will make it any easier."

"Okay, that explains the new look. But…what about the behaviour?"

A new welling of tear began to emerge, and Ellone cried. "It's the Blight!" She sobbed. "_Tia, Mela Omus! Nu Rilassa!_" Kiros rushed out of his seat to comfort her in soothing Estharian words. Leaving Rinoa, once again, out of the loop. She turned back to the closed doors, her own tears falling silently.

§

They had purposely set Squall in a room by himself. If it was true that he did attack the Prime Minister, and injure the other five in the process, then he was a violent criminal. As a foreigner, he would be executed without trial judging only from surviving surveillance and whatever witness testimonies they could get. Rinoa knew that, in Balamb, condemned prisoners were hung, and the old Alcauldian tradition saw them decapitated, and their heads stuck on a pike. But, she didn't know what to expect in Esthar.

As per custom, any condemned criminal was to have their wounds healed, for it was considered inhuman to execute a wounded criminal.

Currently, Rinoa sat on a teal leather couch by a large glass window with holograms of his vital stats on the glass. She didn't understand what half of them were, but they didn't look very active. Squall was laid on his side, his back to her. They had stripped him of the torn white robe, and had set a blanket that reached up to his waist. A drone was floating overtop of him, brushing a beam of thin light over the burn, no, NUKE burn, as it tried to counter infection. Rinoa could see every disciplinary scar across Squall's back, as well as a few smaller slashes and scratches from fights, but she could not see those branded words, as much of his back was blackened. Though hidden, it still bore a haunting realization.

'_North Yaulny Institute'._ She told herself. _My friends and I had a lot of fun making up ghost tales about that place. I even took them over to Timber, and the guys thought they were great. But the stories started somewhere. An actual 'North Yaulny Institute'? Are you really crazy Squall?_

Ellone had spoken of the Blight, even cried over it. Was this the Blight?

The door to the room opened with a hiss, in stepped a middle aged woman, an Estharian robe with a brown and black lined vestibule, she had on a tall, white hat. The Sigil of Esthar was on the front of her vestibule, a sign that she was a Minister. Kiros and another Minister flanked her: a shorter, rounder man with a blond goatee.

"Sorceress Rinoa." The woman began with an authorative tone. "Descendent of Hyne. I am Phyllis Gatchman, Minister of Foreign Affairs." Her Galbadian was good, but she still had her accent. "It is brought to my attention sat you are an illegal immigrant as vell as se obvious. It has also come to my attention sat se patient in se room over sere is an illegal immigrant as vell. Ve haff confirmation sat an unidentified foreigner vas picked up four kilometres from here and sat he vas found missing late last night."

Rinoa didn't like where the conversation was going. Picked up already? Missing from the place he was taken into? Illegal?

"And now he tries to assassinate se Prime Minister. Tell me, vat ver your motives for possession?"

"Possession? Are you saying I manipulated Squall?!" At her outburst, the Ministers took out a piece of fine jewellery each: Kiros held a gold circlet with a green jewel of diopside lay in the centre. The round Minister held out a spinal encrusted bangle with silver trim, and Minister Gatchman held up a cobalt ring with an amethyst crystal in the centre, flanked by small diamonds and pink zircons. Odine Items! With two, three, maybe four automated lazars pointed at her, she wondered if she had it in her to fight back.

"Correct." Minister Gatchman answered bluntly. "Sough, ve do not vish to create any harder confrontation…"

"I didn't possess him!"

"Se man hoo found se patient vitnessed a streak of light aim for se desert ground. It erupted in a silent flash of light on impact and se accused vas sere at se sight along vis sree moombas!" Her tone was getting forceful.

"Wha…? I don't know a damn thing about that! I thought he was dead…!"

"No human being vould survive se force of se impact from sat. No human being could kill fully-grown men in se accused's current predicament! And no human being can transform!"

"Yes, but…!" She stopped her rant with a sickening click in her head. They would have some surviving surveillance, they would have gotten a few pictures of Squall as that sabre beast. What Ellone said had barely made sense to her. How was she to explain it to those…prosecutors? All they knew was that something weird and out of the ordinary had happened, and there was a sorceress in the vicinity.

_Oh bugger! I think I just wore out my welcome!_

"If at all possible," continued Minister Gatchman, "you could save your accomplice by denouncing him to possession."

_Woah!_ Thought Rinoa, her heart rate slowing, but her brain moving one hundred kilometres a minute. _You're actually giving me a choice._ But wait? What sort of political mumbo jumbo was she hearing? It all sounded too easy to get herself off the hook.

"Okay, back up. If I were to denounce him to possession, I would then be…"

"Incarcerated in se Memorial."

"Okay, but if I had nothing to do with it…"

"Ve'd have to assume some sort of magic vas involved. Serefore, ve vould have to issue a certain 'restraint' so sis vill not happen again." To illustrate their point, they held up their Odine Items.

For a while, Rinoa was grateful for such leniency, but it was short lived as she was brought down to the reality that she had a tough decision to make: Save Squall by putting the guilt on her, or save herself in exchange for his life. Her emotions were proving a damper on her decision-making, but the stern look on the Ministers' faces, most notably Gatchman's, and she could tell she was not going to get a lot of time to decide. What would Squall do in that situation? Denounce her to save her? Well, he wasn't in her situation, but what he did do is go logically, something she didn't remember doing in…ever.

_Okay, look at the situation. You are a Sorceress. There are three foreign Ministers near you. You are in the Parliamentary Palace, more accurately, a hospital wing. Squall is hurt, possibly won't recover from that…_ That was right. Kiros and Laguna had obviously gotten the name of the cannons mixed up, because that was no ordinary burn on Squall's side, it was nuclear. She had nuked him with a fusion cannon. How odd that she had always envisioned the beam for one of those nuclear guns as glowing, but it never glowed. So Squall laid there, with a huge nuke burn on him that she knew would not heal properly, even if he were given curative magics.

"Can…I speak to him?" She asked the Ministers, who all got into a huddle to discuss that request. There was a lot of exchanging of Estharian words, but they eventually looked at her with their authorative stances and glances.

"Yes." Minister Gatchman answered. "But use a language we all understand!"

With the Ministers behind her diligently, Rinoa was let into the room where they kept Squall. The blanket only covered him up to the waist, so that the drone above him could have privy to the entire burn, which actually stretched from under his arm, to the edge of his hip. His hands were propped up on the pillow; right in front of his face, exposing his stomach, which was thin, scarred, and purple with bruises. The nuke burn wasn't the only place that his ribs were showing, it was clear that he hadn't been eating properly. On his chest were placed five silver buttons; probably the devices used to measure his vitals, Rinoa wondered how they looked.

Squall's breathing was quite laboured, but he wasn't wearing the oxygen mask anymore. She reached out to caress his cheek, but was shocked to see that her slight touch was enough to make him bruise instantly.

He came to at the sudden touch that somehow felt cold and clammy to him. If his eyes were of any use, he would have opened them. The first thing that he realized was that he felt like crap. His scarred leg was aching terribly. His stomach had started to spasm on itself again, and that bitter, rubbery feeling returned. There was a heavy, grinding feeling in his spine that made him twitch, if not flinch. The hardened tar on his back felt so heavy that it threatened to peal right off; skin attached. The nuke burn he had sustained was stinging greatly; almost felt like it was bubbling like hot liquid, but stung even more as something would pass over the wound like a lazar sensor.

Rinoa noticed Squall twitching. Reflexively, she grabbed hold of his wrist, holding as tight as she could without causing any discomfort to him.

"Squall?" She called, rather concerned. His eyes shot open at the sound, and she couldn't help but feel like wretching: both eyes were still clouded over, but his right eye had become grossly bloodshot, laced with thick red vines, while his right eye was starting to turn green, with a spot of creamy yellow covering the top left side of it.

Drool oozed out of his mouth as he started to speak. "_Frosa myl…_" [Let go of me… His voice was quit; a mere whisper even, dry and raspy like sandpaper.

She didn't know what frightened her more, the deformed eyes, or that voice that held pain and rage. Either way, she let his hand go.

"It's okay Squall," she started in Galbadian, "it's me. Rinoa."

"_Akræk baun i svaka._" [I know it's you

"_Hey! Relish for Brains…!"_ The sudden comment from Cloak caught him off guard.

It didn't surprise Rinoa that he would use Alcauldian; it was his first language after all. Maybe he didn't know where he was.

"Please Squall. Use Galbadian…"

"_Hey! Since when is it manditory to exchange information in front of the ENEMY?!"_

"_Akræk yr taska dával krin elgra a litjarþar!_" [I won't give that bitch the satisfaction!

_Should I translate that?_ She thought. Just who was the 'bitch' he referred too? He was obviously not talking to her, so…

"_But Laguna can't use Telepathy."_ Ellone had said. Squall was an Echo Host, so he could use a psychic talent. Was he Telepathic? Could he read the minds of everyone in the room? Ellone's telepathic powers weren't the best, but…

"He doesn't want to use Galbadian." She lied to the Ministers.

As expected, they didn't seem to take well to that knowledge. "Sen translate for him." Demanded Gatchman.

"_Oh, of course she would be the head."_ Cloak sneered in Squall's head. "_Of course she would be a Minister of Esthar. She has them all Appalling Pace. And now, she even has Rinoa. Kill that woman Appalling Pace. Then, kill her son!"_ Squall whimpered at her loud words, he was hurting too much to care to listen.

She dared ask him: "How are you feeling?"

"_Svaka…kvüsl mür…_" [You…shot me…

"I had to!" She defended immediately. "You were going to kill the Prime Minister!"

"_WHAT?!"_ Shouted Cloak. "_He's not dead! You idiot! You can ice half of this goddamn nation but you can't cap a stupid, brainless, excuse of a human being! What kind of a witch bitch killing mercenary are you?!"_

"Shut up!" He shouted in Alcauldian, putting his hands to his ears in vain. "Like you helped any!" The behaviour was shocking to Rinoa, but she translated it as him talking to her.

"Well…he wasn't on a psycho rampage! You were!" Luckily her first language was Galbadian, so she wasn't too worried about slipping.

All Squall could hear though, was Cloak. "_DAMMIT! What are you goinna say when that coot wakes up?! Now, they're goinna kill you, you bastard!"_

"It's not my fault!" He shouted, his marred eyes widening; looking straight ahead. In those warped depths, Rinoa could see the greasy, swirling spectrum of Strychnine's essence, and for a brief instant, that essence had nearly taken over before he shut his eyes tight.

_What does that mean?!_ "What are you saying?! It's not your fault?!" She yelled, stepping away from in disgust.

"_Shove it Raw Hide! You're stupid fuck up cost us much needed breathing room!"_

"No, it didn't!" He defended, his hands shooting out, fingers flexed in a clawing gesture. The position of his hands exposed the underside of his wrist. Rinoa recalled well that Squall had slashed at least one of his wrists, but there wasn't a scar on either one of them! Though, one wrist had some small gashes on it, as if he were trying to chew on something that used to be around it, but the slash scars were absent.

Squall retracted his hands again, covering his ears once more. "Shut up Cloak!"

_Cloak? Who's Cloak?_ Now she knew he wasn't talking to her. Though, the alarm sounded soon after that, and everyone excluding Squall heard it well. The palace was in immediate disarray, what with all their guards down or dead. Who was around to take care of the intruder?

Rinoa was soundly hit with revelation at that sound. If they still doubted her integrity, she would find the intruder for them. Without thinking her plan through, she ran out of the room, pushing past the startled Ministers, oblivious to the fact she knew not her way around.

"Sorceress Rinoa!" Kiros called after her, fallowing her out the door with the two other Ministers right behind him. "Sorceress Rinoa!" He called again. "What are you doing?" They fallowed her as she descended down a random corridor. Though, it was not long before she realized herself that she was wondering down the halls of an unknown building. Where was she to even look first? What fortunate and odd luck befell her when she saw a gash being cut into the wall: a gash not unlike those that Sabre Squall had created. The gash flowed along the wall like water, stopping several meters away as Rinoa stared at it. The gash continued its path only when she moved closer. It would stop its path only when she stopped, but move forward as she did. The gash was leading her. Without question, she fallowed, running as fast as she could in an attempt to catch it. The gash did not move solely on the wall, but would often wind around, trailing on the ceiling, moving onto the other wall, even moving on the floor in a complicated dance of twists and turns, confusing Rinoa several times. It wound around halls and shot down open staircases. The tailing Ministers were perplexed at the behaviour, but would not let the Sorceress out of their sight.

The gash ended with a show of radiating veins in the wall, and there, at the end, was a sheepish looking Moomba.

"Cardinal?" Started Rinoa, not really knowing how she remembered her name. The gash had lead her to the intruder, but when she looked over at the mark, it was completely gone.

§

Since Laguna was not well, it seemed fit to relay anything she found to Kiros.

Dr. Klimova had observed and tested the convict dubbed 'Sabre'. Though, she knew not about the technical mumbo jumbo of his transformation and such, she had assessed his current physical status only.

Kiros was just outside the hospital wing of the palace, waiting for her as she had asked.

"Vill de convict survive?" He asked right off the bat.

"Survive?" After her assessment, the question seamed like a joke. "I don't give him a mont. Even if ze Sorceress vere to denounce him, he'd probably die on his own."

"Yeah, but dat's politics for you. He did attack de Prime Minister, and once de public gets vord of dis, dey vill demand someone's head."

"Vouldn't zey vant ze Sorceress's head?"

Kiros nearly gagged on his own laughter. "Dat's just vat I said! But, it's dat Gatchman! She's got some sort of voodoo on us dat she activates vit her tongue. As soon as she mentioned retribution ve all shut up." Klimova gave a very confused face, one very akin to 'what the hell does that mean'.

"So, apparently," Kiros continued, "ve give her some leevay. Now, I've met dis Rinoa before, she's not a bad person…yet. So I can't really blame de decision."

"So zere's no problem vit killing someone hoo's going to die anyvay?"

"Nope. So, about Sabre, vat's his condition? Vy do you find dis all a farce?" He already knew Squall's name, but to keep questions to a minimum, Kiros stayed with the code name.

"First, zere's zat honking nuke burn on his side." The doctor started, bemused at the fact she was to explain that again. "I've applied some resin, it'll dull ze pain, but vit or vitout magic it'll be a bitch to heal. He vould live vit ze effects of it for ze rest of his life." Being something he had already guessed, Kiros nodded his head in mock appreciation. "He has synzetic blood…" At the mention of it, Kiros started to sweat, dreading the question that would probably precede that. "Minister Seagill, vould you know vy a foreigner vould haff synzetic blood in zem?"

"Do I really need to know dat?!" Quipped Kiros. "I mean, ve vere isolated from de vorld for seventeen years. Oder countries have made deir own advances! Ve may not be de only one's to have syntetic blood, now are ve?!" _Vell, dat vas a nice little lie. Don't know a single oder country dat has cracked de blood code._

The look on Dr. Klimova's face was quite priceless with fear. "Okay." She squeaked. "Zat vould, most likely, explain vat is happening to him." Her composer had come back quick.

"Say how?"

"Vell, Sabre is literally rotting from ze inside out. Vit vatever blood and tissue sample I could get, I couldn't find a single trace of any patogen, so ze problem isn't biological. I've run ze samples by chemists and chemical biologists, zey couldn't find a trace of any toxin, and so ze problem isn't chemical eizer. As a last resort, I ran ze samples by a technician. He said zat zere vas cell degradation happening at an atomic level."

"Translation?"

"The problem is nuclear. So even if ve vere to save him, zere vouldn't be a zing ve could do. Vell, ve could alvays 'rinse' ze system, but in his current condition, ze process vould kill him anyvay."

In deep thought, Kiros shook his head slowly. "Nuclear. Dat's strange. I've heard of allergic reactions to de blood, but never dis."

"So, it IS Ezzarian technology!" Proclaimed Klimova, pointing at Kiros accusingly.

"Did I say dat out loud?"

"Yes you did. You're busted, and you know it. I knew from ze very moment he spoke. It was foreign, and he's an unregistered individual."

"So he's a foreigner hoo got Estarian aide!" Kiros defended harshly. "So vat?! Vat does Estar have against aiding foreigners? Hell, I'm Galbadian!"

"But he isn't just any foreigner, is he. He vas sent to kill Ultimicia, vasn't he?"

The Minister gave Klimova quite the inquisitive stare. "Oh, you're good."

"I've done my homevork."

"Vat else haff you done?"

"A DNA test."

"How'd dat go?"

Klimova seamed to get a bit sheepish. "Did Prime Minister Loire ever talk about children?"

"No, he never had any."

"…Yeah…" She pursed her lips as she thought of the best thing to say. "'Cause you see, ze DNA test begged to differ."

Kiros' eyes went wide as he just realized what the doctor was getting at.

§

"I don't know whether to be grateful," Rinoa conferred to Ellone, "or suspicious." They were back in her room, Cardinal sitting beside her on the bed. The lights were off, emitting the pale light of the waning night. The pale marks on the bedposts and headboard were glowing in the soft darkness.

"Suspicious? Why?" Asked Ellone.

"Well, that Minister Gatchman seamed quite hell bent on the idea that I possessed Squall and made him go awall on us. Then she turns around and grants leniency out of the blue."

"That's not too suspicious considering the last Sorceress War was less then a month ago. They probably offered you a choice because they didn't want another conflict."

"And they let Cardinal stay?"

Ellone shrugged. "There has never been a law here against animals in public buildings as along as someone cleans up after them." The two were speaking Alcauldian, so Cardinal had no idea if she should growl at that remark or not.

"You know what?" Continued Ellone. "You have jet lag…"

"I came here on a train."

"Then you have train lag. It's messing your mind up. Plus, there was the whole trip you took in the Great Salt Lake, then, the attack…"

"Well, if they're not blaming all that on me, what other reason is there? He did attack the Prime Minister…" Rinoa still had some nagging doubt in her, a doubt that Squall was hardly responsible, even though she witnessed the entire ordeal. "Does anyone else know of the 'Echo…"

"NO!" Ellone shouted, effectively cutting her off. "No. Please Rinoa, don't slip a single word about the Echo Host. Odine still circles me like a vulture, waiting for an open window. I'm only free because of diplomatic immunity. If Odine were to get wise to exactly what I am, or worse, find out that Uncle Laguna is one as well, he'll cage us both and to hell with diplomatic immunity! He'll do the same to Squall if he hasn't already got the idea from that stunt!" Unknowingly, Ellone was shouting right in Rinoa's face, forcing her and Cardinal to back away.

"…Okay." Started Rinoa with a bit of unease. "So…what of what just happened?"

Ellone shook her head sadly. "I don't know. But I pray to Hyne this isn't going to get to Odine. The man is a lunatic."

"Don't I already know…" The lunacy of the doctor had been made known to her on several occasions. Cardinal hopped down from the bed and bounded towards the door and pointed at it.

"What is it?" Rinoa asked like she would her dog, speaking in Galbadian "You want out?" To answer her, Cardinal pointed at the door again and squeaked. "Don't think that's an option mate." The Moomba understood her. Even though she complied, Cardinal still wanted out, she had to make sure Squall was all right. Later, she would try. But, for the moment, she yawned, it had been a very long day. Bounding back, she jumped onto the bed once more.

"That moomba is doing what we're all pretty much thinking." Ellone started, also yawning. "Maybe you would be a little less paranoid Rinoa, if you got some sleep."

"Not a bad idea." Yawned Rinoa in response. What a long day it had been. "but I have something to do first." Getting off the bed, she headed for the door herself; looking quite depressed about something.

Ellone was nearly afraid to ask. "Have you made a decision about Squall?"

Rinoa stopped, turning around to look at her new friend slowly. "…yes."

"You can give your answer to either Minister Gatchman or Minister Seagill."

"I'd rather give it to Minister Seagill."

Nodding her head with silent appreciation for her decision, Ellone got up and led Rinoa out of the room, ready to help her find Kiros while Cardinal fell soundly asleep on the soft bed sheets.

§

Stars disappeared in the pre dawn as a lone vehicle sped down the translucent streets of Esthar, the only occupants were a driver and passenger. Curfew would not be lifted for another couple of hours, so the road was still empty. No doubt, anyone who saw the vehicle from their window would be talking about it the next morning, but that was a thought for the back burner.

The car parked beside O lab: laboratory of Doctor Odine. The single passenger got out, seaming to glide over the transparent road underneath, as the hem of the long robe hid the feet from view. There were no guards, so there was only the door to impede entrance. That was not a concern.

Odine was awakened from his peaceful sleep; dreaming about winning the Fable Award, which was the highest scientific award in Esthar.

"VAT?!" Shouted the slouching doctor as he stomped down the stairs in his nightgown and slippers, his hair a mess and his beard a shamble. "It's some godless hour in ze bloody morning!" He shouted again as he neared the front door to his lab. "Zer had better be a good explanation, or I…" With the touch of a button, the door flew open, effectively shutting the doctor up as he looked awkwardly at his visitor.

"Minister Gatchman." His smile was weak due to his embarrassment. "If you're here because of ze recommended deployment of ze army…"

"I know, I know." Started Phyllis with an annoyed front. "You love your planet, you don't vant to arouse suspicion, yadda, yadda, yadda." She pushed by Odine as she let herself in. "Sat's not vy I'm here."

If Odine was holding his breath, he let it out then with a heavy sigh of relief.

"Listen." She demanded, turning to look down at him. "Have you reassessed se Crystal Pillar like I ordered?"

"Ah, it iz coming along zvimmingly. All I need iz one more piece and everyzing vill be in order." The talk of his latest escapade filled him with brimming pride, if only he had that last piece of the puzzle like he said. For a second, he thought he would anger the Minister with that news, but she had a smile; the kind of smile that makes you want to rethink your last statement regardless.

"If it is just sat piece you need, sen I haff somesing for you sat you'll love…"

§

The lights turned on as soon as the sensor picked up movement. Kiros stepped up beside Squall's bed. The boy had been placed on his back since the resin was applied to his burn. His breathing was a rugged jumble of gurgles and hisses. Drool still slipped out of the sides of his frayed mouth.

_Rotting from the inside out._ Kiros repeated in his mind as he looked with pity on the young man. _What does that feel like?_ He held up a large stamp and brought it down on Squall's forehead, frightengly amazed at how a bruise instantly appeared around it. He pressed a button on the flat of the handle, and the light of a lazar appeared under the stamp. When it was removed, a vibrant grey mark was left behind, made even more vibrant from the resulting bruise around it. A ring, separated into three equal pieces with more grey lines, and smaller grey lines seemingly stuck into the ends of those 'pie pieces', was what the symbol was. It was the Estharian sign for a condemned criminal.

Rinoa had made her choice.


	9. The Sorceress

9

The Sorceress' Curse

She had to keep telling herself that her emotions could not speak on the decision, that it had been her logic that betrayed Squall to an independent act. Yes, the word 'betrayed' was what she used. Even though he was a horrible wreck that would probably die any way, it still felt like a selfish decision.

_How is it Squall can do the logical thing and I can't?_ Rinoa was always one to fallow her feelings as it was.

She didn't think she could ever fall asleep with the decision weighing heavily on her conscience, but that added weight was probably what tired her out. She crashed on her guest bed, not bothering to get under the covers, or lay properly on the bed. On her stomach, thrown over the bed like a recently discarded jacket, Rinoa slept like freeway road kill. To feint sleep, Cardinal was at the foot of the bed, curled up all nice and snug. But, as soon as Rinoa had retired for whatever many hours, she knew it was her best chance to get out.

Hopping down from the bed, her claws made nary a sound as she slinked towards the door. Testing it soundly, she found it locked. A small console was beside the door, most likely the locking mechanism, like that in the hospital with the alien being. It was high up, so Cardinal had to stand on her toes to reach it with both paws, cupping it firmly. She squeaked something softly, and the box shuddered and hissed as it was zapped. The door made a firm clicking sound to indicate it was unlocked. Those sounds, though small, were too loud for Cardinal's preferences. Panicked, she put her back to the wall and held her breath as Rinoa moaned in her sleep, but did not wake up.

With a soft, Moomba chuckle of relief, Cardinal left the room, momentarily wondering what sort of dilemmas Bishop and Deacon had; if they were on their way, or if they were even all right.

The palace hallways stood with dimmed lights. With all the excitement away, many were more then pleased to retire for, at least, until lunchtime. She didn't think she would have to worry about any humans, or those mechanical versions of them, just the darn cameras that caught her the first time.

Since she knew not her way around, she had to use her sense of smell. Like an old Moomba saying: "when in doubt, use your nose." She began to sniff the ground. As best she could, she went down corridors, hid from any moving cameras; it was to her great relief that many of those cameras were severed. The carnage she had seen of those cameras, the gashes on walls, and the sliced and diced humans she had encountered before she set off the alarm were so heavily reminiscent of the carnage she had seen inside the 'wall'. That beast was in there, and it had Squall with it.

The smelling tactic wasn't getting her far; she needed a scent. Perhaps, if she could locate where a body fell, she could find the scent of the killer.

Her hope spawned the presence of a flame on a dark stairwell. It was an odd, vibrant blue flame that clung to the reflective flooring, but did not burn or melt it. The flame smelt of fire, and she even felt its warmth. Curiously moving towards it, the flame moved away a bit, leaving behind a tail of smaller blue flames that vanished after awhile. Even closer, Cardinal inched, with the flame moving ever away as she did so. Soon, she was at a running pace, with the flame shooting along the floor away from her. Like a cat and mouse, she chased the flame over the transparent halls and reflective stairs, the glowing blue showing up well in the dark.

A clank in gears and a squealing, and the protective walls that covered the stairwells began to close. The flame took no heed to the slowly closing portals, but shot over waxing horizontal walls as if they were no obstacle, Cardinal fallowed diligently, nimbly jumping over the closing doors of several stairwell gates, but nearly being crushed by the very last one she exited. Hardly having the time to look at the place she leaped into, Cardinal stood on her haunches as the flame slowed down to circle around a discarded book. It had a black cover, and a title of large, silver glyphs was printed onto it, but they were not decipherable to her. On it was a very strange image of a cat, almost regal, carved in the same silver as the title. The pages were such a deep blue, and so ambient, that it appeared to glow softly. The book had a golden spine that actually resembled a _real_ spine. It was the book that Rinoa had unknowingly dropped; abandoning it as she fled the horrid vision the sabre beast had fed her. The flames burned low, then extinguished as Cardinal picked up the book. It was rather heavy, and she had to hold it with both paws wrapped around the hard cover.

Without putting the book down, she tried to open it, but found it locked for some reason. There was no latch. It was as if some super magnet was holding the book closed. When she gave up that task, she looked around, a little scared at first, until she reminded herself that she had to be in the same place. The walls were warped; dyed unusual colours, mainly dark blue and green. The floor was twisted and blistered in some places. Podgy looking wet warts were stuck to the walls and corners of the hall. The ceiling was bent, peeling, and dripping. Odd formations of small crystals, as well as solid veins had formed that seamed to run under the skin of the walls. When Rinoa had fled, wanting to fling whatever spell she could, she most certainly did so.

The hall also held another surprise for her. She could pick up the smell of Squall and the monster! Thinking that the blue flames were onto something, she held the book on top of her head as she sniffed the floor. Unfortunately, the trail led right into a wall. Assuming that it was some sort of secret door, Cardinal felt around, finding solid wall, not an illusion. Though, standing straight up, she found a horizontal crack. With her claws, she dug into it, and her mighty strength pulled it open. It was a closed stairwell. The upper lip of the gate opened up as she pulled the lower lip down, throwing the book inside before she went in herself, quite self conscious of the loud noise that gate made when it closed. Taking a few minutes to collect her grit, she began the same process with the other gate. It would take awhile for her to get where she wanted.

Like usual, she failed to count the time, but did know that by the last gate she pried open, her arms were a heavy mass of numbness and the soles of her feet felt like they were split in two. Falling face first onto the book, she barely noted her target scent mixed with that of radiation and several others. When she did though, she looked up to see scorch marks, welts, hairline gouges, and a spot on the wall that looked to have been completely melted away. The blood that had been spilt there had been cleaned up long before, but that didn't mean that Cardinal couldn't smell it.

New hope surged, it was a sure sign of a struggle. Who had been the victor? A quick sniff around, and she found that the gasoline stench of the monster stopped there, but Squall's scent was faint after that, until it tapered off with the scents of several others. The monster was, most likely, defeated, and Squall was taken away.

The trail after that was much easier to fallow, being as there were no gates to pry open. Though, there was a bit of a problem when she came to the hospital wing in the palace. It was only a lonely skeleton crew at the time, with only one doctor, three nurses, and a handful of small drones around. Cardinal had to do a lot of double takes and quick thinking on top of her smelling to get around unnoticed. She had accidentally walked in front of one drone, but it didn't do anything, probably wasn't programmed to identify something it could easily float over.

She was led to a closed door: a mechanical door that probably opened automatically. While she was debating on whether to pry open the door like the gates, or fry the console lock like in the guest room, she heard a conversation inside. With her keen ears, she leaned in to listen. The conversation was in Classical Galbadian.

"Just ven I get my hopes up, you're not only dying, you're reading my mind, aren't you?" It sounded like an angry woman with an Estharian accent.

"You actually care that I'm going to hell? That's sweet, I'm touched." The voice was weak, but held an edge of defiance, as well as a noticeable accent foreign to Esthar.

"Yes, I'm sure sat's se basic gist of it. So I can only assume you know vy I'm here."

"So, I'm a side show to you now?" Cardinal could hear a weak chuckle that sounded much too strained. "I'm here to die, not entertain you."

There was a long pause before the woman spoke, and Cardinal could hear another small, and faint voice from inside, it sounded like rude defience fallowed by a plea.

"Your Sorceress betrayed you. Your sentence vill be carried out tomorrow at 1700 hours."

"Don't tell me what I already know bitch. I know damn well about your kangaroo court and your stupid execution." There was a pause when the person inhaled a heavy and shaking breath. "I know damn well what you're going to do to me E.T.. So do me a fucking favour and fucking leave, you festered old cunt."

The woman let out an audible huff of disgust. "Vy, you ungrateful brat. I vouldn't be surprised if no one mourned your rotting carcass."

"And I'm not going to mourn yours!" The angry voice sounded so stressed and terribly scratchy from the effort. "Go fetch your son bitch, before the authorities do."

"You have no ausority to order me…!"

"Whatever." The scratchy voice finished up with some gruelling hitch in the voice. Absently, Cardinal shrunk as much as she could with her back to the wall as the woman stormed out in a spiteful mood. It was very clear she was Estharian, mainly because she wore one of those white robes; a blue pauncho with yellow lining was draped over her shoulders. The unnerving feeling a harsh reprimand was stinging Cardinal's brain, so much as to the point of paralysis. As the woman moved away, the Moomba's eyes fallowed her with utmost caution as she disappeared around a corner. It was a huge relief to her, it had seamed that the woman was so angry; she didn't bother to notice the Moomba.

Her relief close to heart, Cardinal moved past the door that was still open. The lights had turned off automatically when the lazar eye noted that someone left, but Cardinal was much too short for the eye to catch her, so the room remained dark.

There was a bed in the room, currently occupied. A curtain was around the other side, but the woman had left in such a hurry that she did not close it around the patient. Squall's breathing was shallow and raspy, it was not hard to imagine why, and all that yelling sounded terribly hard on his throat.

He moved his head slightly as if to look at Cardinal. "You came." He started in Winter Shumi.

What was she to say now? "…_I found this book…"_ She held the book in front of her absently.

Squall took in a laboured gulp of air. "Can I have it?" The question was very much a whisper. For a while, she didn't really know if it would be of any use, but she humoured him anyway. Too weak to grasp the book firmly on his own, Cardinal mainly pushed the heavy thing onto his chest, where it could easily stay with him. He wrapped both his bony arms over it; much like he had once did for Strychnine when she was still an egg.

"_What do you want with it?"_ Asked Cardinal. "_How can you…"_ Then the pieces snapped together. The monster that supposedly took him, the freakishly quick way he managed to understand them, how he was able to tell when a monster was lurking behind a rock a whole kilometre away, and the odd portions of the recent argument such as: 'you're reading my mind, aren't you'. "_You really are an Echo Host."_

Squall nodded slowly, never opening his eyes.

"_You're telepathic."_

"It really seams like that." His voice didn't go over a whisper. "I can read minds effortlessly. It's like…tuning into a radio station."

"_That easy? But, can you transmit your own messages?"_

For a while he lay still, breathing shallow, gruff breaths before he spoke again. "I…think so. I told you where you could find this book, and you found it. I told Rinoa where she could find you, and she did. I think…I may have talked some more…but I don't know.

He told her where to find the book? But how? Cardinal didn't hear anything…but she did **see** those blue flames. Squall wasn't sending verbal messages as he was sending pictures. What she did know about telepathists was that the ability to send a picture message was rare, but very special.

"I want to know,…" continued Squall, wheezing slightly, "I want to know why…this book has Griever on it."

"_But how can you find out if you can't see the words?"_

Squall smiled weakly, his eyes opened up only a sliver width. "I don't need to see…to read."

Cardinal was curious of one more thing. "_How far can you reach?"_

For a while, he had grown quiet again, only making noise with his laboured breathing. "I…can get Bishop and Deacon."

_They're all right then!_ Cardinal told herself. _They were able to defeat that human mimic!_

"No, they didn't." Answered Squall. "And they are not all right. Deacon is fine, but tired. Bishop has been poisoned…with Brain Bane." Cardinal had good reason to believe that he wasn't lying about that, that Bishop and Deacon were in need of aide.

"I…I can pick up…Quistis. I…can pick up…Zell…Selphie…the Owls." His voice began to crack as it was gaining ragged pitch. "They're alive!" He squeaked. "They're alive! Cloak, you bitch! You told me they were dead! THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" His voice was nearly inhuman at that pitch, as he tried to scream his frustration it cracked, it buckled, it hissed out of its own accord. "_SVAKA, MÜR OR, VRASÆ AK KROSTI IÞRA, SVAKA AKRIN DÁVAL! SVAKA KJAL…!_" [YOU TOLD ME THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, YOU BITCH! YOU LIED…! His mouth opened wide with his curses. He spit up phlegm and dark, synthetic blood. The dark substance and phlegm trickled down the sides of his mouth. As Cardinal continued to look in shock, backing away from the bed slightly, the blood gushed freely forth; from his open mouth, and from his glassy eyes, the rims of which had started to glow red. Squall turned his head with a very distinguished crack that sounded like his neck was breaking into millions of pieces. His eyes, with their dead stare and their glowing rims, locked onto her own as she stood where she was, paralysed with a pang of morbid fear. Squall's mouth opened, and inside, his teeth had become sharp as wooden steaks, and as yellow as industrial adhesive. Out of it hissed a word that became so ingrained in Cardinal as her own name: "Wayward"

The word hit a sensitive nerve with her, and she ran as far away from him as she could. Another siren buzzed, but it was not the same as the one that alerted the palace to her presence. An Estharian voice fallowed it, and down the halls came the pounding of several footfalls. Cardinal screeched her running to a fast halt and found another direction to run, away from the approaching humans.

The one doctor and three nurses ran into Squall's room at the sound of the distress call. All hospital rooms were equipped with a simple sensor, attached to a patient that needed particular attention. When Squall started to panic and yell at Cloak, his heart began to beat rapidly. The four found him shrieking something in his native tongue, but often the words would fade instantly as their pitch became to high for his tattered throat to reach. There was blood and phlegm oozing out of his mouth, but not gushing; like Cardinal had seen, nor any coming out of his eyes. The rims were not glowing, and his teeth were not sharp like wooden steaks. The book that was in his arms was taken away and placed on the bedside drawer. It was easy to keep him from thrashing around; he wasn't strong enough to withstand one person anymore, not along four. But, there seamed little the nurses, or doctor, could do to get him to calm down.

"_KJALUR!_" He shrieked as a nurse attempted to calm him down, putting her hand on his cheek. "_KJALUR! SVAKA DÁVAL KRIN!_"

"It's okay son," the doctor assured while keeping Squall from falling off the bed. "We're here to help…" it was only reflex to console a patient with words, even if he was well aware that his patient didn't understand a single one of them, even if he could hear them.

He did not hear the doctor, or the nurses in the least. "_DURISÞI!!…_"

§

Ellone's room in the palace wasn't nearly as fantastic as the big guest rooms, but it served its purpose. A simple room it was, of a simple height, completely square, about six meters by six meters, but had its own circular window that looked out into the garden. The circular window had a diameter that nearly touched the floor and the ceiling, so the view outside was spectacular. Though, there was a retractable 'iris' on the window if she wanted privacy. The garden seemed to always be shining, since there were mirrored tiles and other windows on the walls surrounding it, which allowed the sun to flow down from so high up. In the middle of the large garden was a fountain that sported a simple geyser. The circular fountain radiated four cannels that ran to the walls. Artificial waterfalls would pour water down into them, giving even more of a natural feel. There were paths in there, marked by stone walks. The walks had stone walls around to keep the plants from growing over them, those walls were only about as high as one knee, and served also as a place to sit down. The plants growing there were exotic for Esthar: ferns from Galbadia, flowers from Timber, shrubs from Trabia, and the highly poisonous white candle vines from Balamb. They had managed to put some native plants of their continent there. Estharian plants were hearty specimens that were very stalky and acid tolerant; not the prettiest things to look at. Since the palace started to take in the hospital, it was also an easy place to get medicinal herbs.

The waterfalls and fountain were still turned off, the sun was barely high enough for the mirrors to catch anything. Ellone closed the iris curtain, getting ready to go to sleep at last. What a night it had been.

Being what time it was, she didn't even feel it necessary to change into any pyjamas, so she dove onto her bed belly first, her head flopping on the pillow. It felt so good to finally be able to rest, but before she could do so, she opened a drawer by her bedside table and took out a bracelet. It was a bracelet that looked to be made of brass with inlaid diopside stones. It was an Odine Item, and those items, she knew, were not only effective on a sorceress, but an Echo Host as well. It wasn't even that long ago that she became fed up with her powers running wild on her when she was asleep, so she got that bracelet.

§

Klimova was looking over the meagre blood sample she had gotten from Squall. What was it that was causing him to deteriorate the way he was? He was going to be executed, but if his condition was a health issue connected with the synthetic blood, it needed to be tested. Thus far, she came up with no discernable explanation. But she did find something.

Was it amazing? Was it horrible? Was it a combination of both? She could have said all three. In her photomicroscope was a bunch of normal, healthy cells, being eaten by something that looked like a sliver of salt crystals. It would seam that the salt crystal cell would leave something behind, but it didn't.

At first, she had suspected something like cells simply dying off, or even a rogue cell eating them. But the crystalline pathogen was a molecular structure she was not prepared to see. Nor, was it any molecule that had come from the synthetic blood. She needed a second opinion, and a good one.

Wheeling her chair over to another desk, Klimova flipped a latch over a pale green square. With the latch gone, the square flipped over, showing its former underside as a sort of circuitry board with a central eye. A numerical touch pad was in front of it. Pressing a few numbers, the eye lit up and projected a hologram of the head of an attractive and bouncy young woman. She was known as Stacey, and technically, she wasn't a real person, but just an avatar of a mechanical receptionist.

"_Dr. Odine's laboratory. How may I help you?_" Chirped the perky avatar, her voice as lively and bouncing as a real woman's.

"Zis is Dr. Regina Klimova, physician. Practicing at ze Palace Reserve. I have urgent organic material concerning patient 'Sabre'. I vould like him to take a look at it."

"I'm sorry." The avatar replied with no facial change. "But se doctor is currently absent. Can I take a message?" Klimova honestly couldn't believe her luck.

"Tell ze doctor zat I have found unusual cell activity vitin patient 'Sabre' zat could be a potential healt risk." She gave the receptionist the address, of which he could call her, as well as a place and time he could find her.

"I'll see to it se doctor gets your message." Chirped the receptionist's head. "Sank you for calling." The hologram vanished then. Klimova hung her head in sure defeat. Odine was not known for getting back fast. For all she knew, that anomaly pathogen in the sample would eat everything, and then die off like a virus before he got back.

§

The sun was already climbing in the morning sky. Ellone was already up, pulling a dolly loaded with huge hardcover books. It was not a dolly with wheels that she pulled; it hovered on a current of light. She wore one of the white robes of the country, draped over with a green poncho with red trim. She was taking a good number of books down to the translators: a government run agency that translated all manner of texts into another language with the use of a computer and several language databases. Usually, they translated foreign texts into Estharian, but wouldn't they all be shocked when she came in with her load and asked to have them translated into Galbadian? It would cost a good sum, and they would most likely gouge her simply for translating something into a language that wasn't their own.

With the lifting of the curfew for the day came the morning people. Many stopped to stare at Ellone as she walked past, pulling a dolly loaded with more books then they had probably read in their whole lifetime.

Cardinal had, since last, run right back to Rinoa, who was still asleep. In her slumber, she tossed and turned, tormented by the happenings of the entire day: condemning Squall, which still felt like betrayal, and the abandonment of everyone else in that cave, which also felt like betrayal.

The nightmare of their accusations and vengeance woke her with a harsh slap. She sat bolt upright, breathing in heavily while reassuring herself it was just a dream. It helped her a lot when she saw Cardinal was sitting at the foot of her bed.

"Cardinal." She stated with a shaking voice, still trying to recover from her nightmare. "I'm in more hot water then a care to admit." The Moomba gave a rather puzzled look. So, it was that Cardinal's grasp of the Galbadian language was shaky at best; at worst, she knew jack. Though, that fact was of little concern to Rinoa, for she had much more pressing issues. Then, there was that book…

It was the first time in a while that Rinoa realized she no longer had that black book with the image of Griever on it!

Also up and about was Kiros. He had stopped by the palace hospital to check on his friends. Unfortunate for Ward was that there was no change in his condition. The doctors had temporarily sealed the offending wound on his waist with resin. He had an oxygen mask on his face, and an I.V. bracer was on his wrist. Much of him was covered in a blanket but there were many wires slithering out from under the covers, most likely hooked up to all sorts of equipment that were keeping him alive. The window by his room was displaying his vitals. They were low, but stable; a good sign if no other. Solemnly, he turned his back to him and approached a passing doctor.

"Vere might I find de Prime Minister?" He asked, masking his depression well.

"Oh, your in luck zen Minister Seagill." Answered the doctor with a smile. "Ve've just finished reattaching his hands to his vrists. He's receiving synzetic blood as ve speak, and ve're putting in a request for a donor. You can go see him." The doctor pointed to another room only a few doors down.

Kiros thanked the man and headed down there at a dignified pace.

"By ze vay, Minister Seagill." the doctor continued, causing Kiros to turn around to look at him curiously. "Please tell ze Prime Minister to take it easy on his reattached limbs. I've told him zat myself, but I have a feeling he doesn't take me zat seriously." The doctor, then, walked away.

Laguna was already awake in the strictest sense when Kiros walked in, the electronic door closing behind him with a click and a tumble, a testament to how old they were. All reattached limbs were held in place by a sort of brace that looked like chrome; at least until the bones, nerves, and muscles were sure to not jiggle out of place. Laguna held his wrists up and was currently staring at them like the marvel of marvels, most likely entranced by his reflection.

"Look Kiros," he smiled, showing off the braces, "shiny."

"Dat's nice Laguna." Kiros dismissed easily. "But you should put dose hands down before dey fall off again."

"But, sey're so shiny." Most likely, he was still woozy from whatever anaesthesia the surgeons had used, but Laguna had had less of an excuse to say stupid stuff on a number of occasions.

"Hey, you vant to know somesing?" Slurred Laguna, inching over on his bed as if to get closer to Kiros. "I'm naked."

"Tanks for de update." _How much anaesdesia did dey use anyvay?_ "You just got out of surgery."

"You wanna know somesing else?" Ignored Laguna. "Ven sis place vas an animal shelter, sey kept se cats in sis very room."

"You're not listening to a vord I say, are you?"

"I like kittens. Ve should get one." Well, Kiros' question was answered rather nicely.

"Say," Laguna started with more curiosity, "hoo vas sat guy hoo tried to kill me?"

"Squall Leonhart." Answered Kiros.

"Squall Leonhart…sat sounds familiar…"

"Yeah. You hired him, along vit tree utter SeeDs, a girl, and a guy vit a gun."

"Really." He thought about that for a second. "Sat must have been avile ago. Because I can't remember it."

"It vas barely a mont ago!" Kiros whined, honestly, not surprised Laguna had forgotten.

"Vat did I need mercenaries for a mont ago?"

"Da Sorceress…you know, Ultimicia…vas causing problems…triggered anoder Lunar Cry…avoke Adel…compressed time…you know."

Again, Laguna looked baffled. "I hired bodyguards?"

"No, you hired dem to kill Ultimicia."

"Did sey?"

"Yeah!" _What had caused Laguna to forget a moment like that?_ "Dey also took care of Adel vile dey vere at it."

"Sveet. Kiros, promote sat man."

"He's a mercenary, Laguna. Not a soldier in our army." _It's got to be de anaesdesia making him forgetful._

"Vell, did ve pay sem?"

"Yes. Laguna, I don't get vy you're concerned about de guy hoo nearly killed you?" _Dis has so got to be de anaesdesia's fault._

"Maybe ve should get him a kitten, too…"

The conversation was getting nowhere. "I'm coming back ven de anaesdesia wears off." Kiros was about to stomp out of the room, but Laguna continued.

"You know. A good svig o' hooch cures vat ails you. But a kitten gets rid of se sorceress."

_Out of all de drunken drabble…_ "Hoo says a svig o' hooch cures vat ails-" His drunken mumbles were so jumbled they were starting to make Kiros' head spin. "Vat do you mean by sorceress?" The old saying 'The blight of the Sorceress is a man's bane, but a cat's boon' was an old Estharian saying. Also on the list was: 'a newborn kitten means newborn hope', 'the white cat protects by day, the black by night', 'a dead cat in the basement is a bad omen', and 'joy to the cat owner who has enraged the Sorceress, for the cat will take all the blame'. It was believed that the cat could absorb a sorceress' spell like metal absorbs radiation, and that, where a person would slowly decay, a cat would grow stronger. The white and black cats were very special, and if one were to have a sable black and white cat, they would be protected by the powers of the sun and moon. During the Reign of Adel, the woman actually had cats forbidden under penalty of death. Cats were smuggled in illegally and kept as magic warders. In the resistance faction he, Laguna, and Ward were in, they had five cats, and one gave birth to kittens only a mere day before Odine came up with his 'sorceress sealing' device. After the War, there were still those that had a bout of bad magic cast on them. They had either gone through the cures of new magic and technology, or gotten a cat. There was a seventy percent cure rate for magical therapy, but a hundred percent cure rate for those with the cats.

Laguna just smirked. "Oh, c'mon buddy. Sey made two sorceresses angry. Sey haff se Sorceress's Curse. SAT dude hoo attacked me has se Sorceress's Curse." For some reason, he didn't stop smiling; probably still feeling fuzzy.

"De Sorceress's Curse is just a buzz term! Like Liver Pox, or PDD." Of course, it was also widely believed that a sorceress could condemn her killers beyond death with the notorious 'Sorceress's Curse', also known as: 'Sun Bane', 'Moon Dementia', 'Sorceress's Plague', 'Red Vengeance', and that was just in Esthar alone. Like the name 'Moon Dementia' entailed, it tended to act somewhat like mind control, but the descriptions, diagnostics, and symptoms varied from place to place. There was absolutely no evidence to support that the Curse existed, which gave cause for much relief. Though, there were still superstitions that could not be doused. The debate, in short, about the existence of the Sorceress's Curse, was still in session.

"Sen vy else did he go for se trouble of turning into a monster and attacked me?"

_De anaesdesia must be vering off. He's making to much sense now!_ To sum up what Laguna was getting at, it seemed he was saying that either Ultimicia, Adel, or both, had laid their curse upon Squall on their death bed, and were, in short, not happy about Laguna. It was probably Adel's influence that was pulling the 'kill Laguna' strings. But Kiros didn't believe in the Sorceress's Curse, Ward barely believed in it himself, as well as many other well educated men and woman the world over. Still, why would Squall come all the way from Hyne knows what place on the globe, and risk certain retaliation, all to kill someone he barely knew?

He already knew what relation the boy had with the Prime Minister, so he knew of how he transformed. That relationship had been the exact reason they got Laguna to hire Squall in the first place. Ellone knew first, but had been afraid to tell Laguna that he had conceived another Echo Host.

"Laguna," began Kiros, sounding a bit worried for a change, "how are dose knobs on your back?"

"Knobs?" He thought for a moment on what was said, but soon realized what was meant. "Oh, knobs. Right. You know, sey're starting to get some colour on se ends." Laguna had started to grow five rows of knobs down his back some two or three years ago, a sure sign of mutation. They had done their best to keep it a secret, but with the surgical procedures he just went through, Kiros was afraid someone would have noticed.

_An Echo Host against an Echo Host..._ Ellone had mentioned the Blight, the affliction that was the end result of an already unstable mind.

"_It's the Blight! __**Tia, Mela Omus! Nu Rilassa!**__"_

§

The only light in that dark, stuffy room was the faint silver glow of a pearl that lay on a worn cushion of torn, frayed satin. The floors were hard wood, covered with some torn and stained cloth, barely visible in the shallow light. The walls looked padded, the inlay positioned to make diamond shapes on them. A mannequin of a dancing ballerina stood in the middle of the floor, but her right arm was missing, and her torso looked gnawed. In the soft glow, it looked like much of the paint was missing from it. Directly above, was a mirror: stained, smudged, and cracked. Looking directly into it, Squall could see the ghostly pallor of his hair, the blank nothingness of his eyes, even in the dim light. He was cracked all along his skin, as if her were made of fragile china.

He heard the distinct thudding of steps on the outside, away from the dark room he resided in. A click was heard close by, and the room was flooded with morning sun as the roof opened up above. In the stronger light, he saw the room as a jewellery box.

There was no head looming over him; only the arm was seen opening the lid. Above them was a light green roof covered in water stains. Squall could see the edges of a simple chandelier that was probably centred in the middle of the room.

The ballerina had started to move with the opening. It wasn't graceful in the least. Its spins were slow, sluggish; every time it turned a single degree, it sounded like a piece of bone was snapping. The mannequin rotated full hundred and eighty degrees before it turned its back to him once more. The placid, smiling face with the chipped paint it had prior became a mask of humorous contempt; sporting an inhuman grimace that stretched from ear to ear, the open mouth painted a simple black, highlighting the needle-like teeth, while the eyes were stretched as if they were from a rubber mask.

Squall pulled his gaze away from the ballerina quickly, and chose to stare, instead, at the wall that blocked the jewellery box from the room. Getting to his feet, he found the height of the wall was only about up to his shoulders. Him, the ballerina, and the quicksilver pearl, were on the second shelf of the box, and below was the first. Whereas the only jewellery on his shelf he could see was that pearl, there was no sort of object on the first. The walls were without padding, scratched, and covered in peeling paint. At least, it seamed like peeling paint, all around were mashed, mangled, and crushed bodies. Their bones were flattened like wood chips, their guts spewed all over like meat paste, and the blood had covered much of the walls. Fortunately, the bodies were completely unidentifiable, but flattened into stances that seamed very human. They were smeared on the floor, and on the walls, as if, when the box closed, the second shelf crushed them.

Something else was thrown into the second shelf of the box, nearly hitting Squall. The loud thud of the object was amplified greatly as if in water. From where he landed on the floor, he saw it was a huge black object, most likely made of onyx, or obsidian. It was a key, made of the blackest of schorl. The handle of the key was shaped much like his Griever pendent. As he reached for it, the object shrunk until it was small enough for him to wrap his hand around the middle.

Squall looked up from the key to see that his surroundings had changed. No longer was he on the second shelf with the warped ballerina and the pearl, but on the first with the flattened corpses, his boots crunching bone underfoot. His hand still held the key: a key, which acquired a hole at the head of the lion cameo, as if it were to be strung as a talisman. A gurgling noise, like that of a clogged drain sounded. Squall looked quickly over his shoulder, starring right at a flattened, splattered mess. Its skull looked like a broken plate, but the busted jaw bone was moving up and down as if to speak, but all that came out was the gushing gore, the source of the gurgling sound. The flattened cadaver peeled itself off the wall, falling to the ground like the dead thing it was supposed to be. Squall moved out of the way in both disgust and horror, even though the body was nowhere near him.

A dark figure looked down from the top shelf. He looked away from the crumpled, skeletal pile up at the twisted smile of the ballerina. He looked away sharply, and saw the great hand reappear, grabbing hold of the lid of the box, and slowly, started to close it.

The box below his feet rumbled like a freeway, the top shelf descended. Too fast, it seamed, that the shelf was already over Squall's head. He could see the smeared blood and small splinters of bone that had stuck to it. Wanting to scream, but found himself unable, all he could do was stop the shelf's advancement with his outstretched hands. Unfortunately, the action was in vain, as the shelf continued to descend, until he was shoved onto his back. As the space closed, so it seamed, his space to breathe did as well. He stopped trying to stop the ceiling from caving in completely as it hit his stomach, and laid his hands beside him instead. The sensation of pressure on his ribs felt almost gratifying, until they started to snap.

Like knives being jammed into his sides, it felt. Futilely, he turned his head to the side to delay what little he could, his breathing completely stopped and his eyes glassy and wide. Red gore oozed out of his mouth, his eyes, his nose, and his ears, as the pressure was slowly rupturing his organs. He barely perceived the snapping of his shoulders, his collarbone, as the stale, cold blood was felt nearing his cheek. As with his torso, the pressure on the side of his face was relaxing for a brief moment before his jaw snapped, and his skull split.

The jewel box was closed for good, and locked with a black key. It did not seam to want to close completely for a second there, but it eventually did.

The jewel box was made of pine, and its beautiful pink paint was peeling. The ends and corners were laid with silver in immaculate Victorian design, with small jewels of rock crystal set near the lock. The box sat on an old oaken desk, the polish decaying with its age. The mirror it sported was cracked, dinted and chipped.

A gloved hand fell gently onto the closed lid and looked up into the mirror. On its cracked surface, Squall stared at a reflection of himself that refused to show his eyes properly, only as dead orbs of pink and red, the lids and area around them matted with darkness, and his hair was shown as a smoky grey. There was no sign that he was ever crushed.

He was in a bedroom, the walls were covered with really old floral wallpaper, also mainly green, faded, and pealing. There was mould growing in the corners. On the wall at his left was a grand window with heavy maroon curtains, torn and slightly burned, with golden tassels. A queen sized bed, complete with a canopy to match the curtains, was behind him in the corner, but it looked dusty, and there were cobwebs in several places. The wall to his right had a chest of drawers about a hundred and eighty centimetres in height, a bit taller then himself, polished and scuffed, marked with all kinds of scratches and holes. It held six drawers, but the one at the bottom was missing its handle. An open closet was beside the bed, completely bare of any colour or wallpaper, and with absolutely no clothes hanging in it. Also, there was a carpet, thick and also, green; the filthiest carpet he had ever seen, it looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Three pictures adorned the room: the first was oval shaped, with an intricate brass frame. The top tip and bottom were made to look like holly, hung up around the mirror, but the lovely frame had no picture in it. The second was a large rectangular one with a thick, but plain, wooden frame, hung on the wall to his right, and also had no picture. The third picture was smaller, but longer in height. It had a simple metallic frame of chrome, but no picture either. It hung beside the window. Even so, there was no door leading out of the room.

Taking the schorl key in his hand, Squall walked over to the window. Outside was a sky of the strongest blue, but empty of any clouds, save a hazy horizon of weaker blue. The sun shone high, marking a noontime sky, but must have been a bit behind the house since it could not be seen. Strange, for being behind, the building he was in cast no shadow on the endless white sands below.

Squall went to open the window, but was stopped by a jumbling coming from the jewellery box. It stopped just as suddenly as he stared at it, eyes agape and breathing shallow as that same cold, draining sensation pulled at his gut. For the longest time, he stared at the box, but it never moved. Only when he looked away again, did the shuffling sound emit. Again, it stopped when Squall looked its way. Knowing that something was wrong, he kept looking at it, until the box gave up its secrecy, and jumped, as something seemed to want to get out of it. Squall took a tentative step towards it, the box jumped higher as something began to hiss inside. Panicking, he sprinted forward and held the box down with both hands. The frantic object seamed to relax, so he took his hands off slowly. The box no longer jumped, or hissed.

He looked up at the mirror again, but did not see himself, not even a distorted image. Instead, there was the face of a woman, hair of long, fine silver. A thin face laced with symmetric purple vines. Her eyes opened to a colour that looked to flicker between yellow and orange, like flames were dancing behind them. Her face looked to be poised in mal content, even though the lower part of the face looked like it had been blown away from the inside. Some of her lips remained, but they were ripped and bloody, and most of her teeth were missing as well.

Squall held his breath, paralysed at the sight of the woman. He heard someone speak in a voice like a cackling old frog "Because I should live, you have. Because I have died, you should."

The name of the reflection came to him at the sound of 'should'. "Ultimicia?" Squall stammered.

With the mention of her name, the dead sorceress opened her disfigured mouth and screamed. A scream that combined more then sound, more then pain, but the essence of fear, the power of hate, and corruption of sorrow, a more hideous cacophony that shattered the sound and sanity barrier with one fell blow. A scream that Squall aptly called '_Nyvþakullur_' or just 'The Scream'.

Covering his ears and looking down from the mirror, he saw that the jewellery box began to leak a sticky black fluid from under the lid, a fluid that reminded him too much of blood. The silver inlay had turned to jet, with designs that looked more like snakes. The pink paint had become dark red, and the rock crystals had become black diamonds. The box jumped so hard, and so high, it fell off the desk onto the dirty carpet, staining it with the black ooze. The hissing and thrashing that was going on inside of it was so vigorous that the box moved across the floor, skipping like hot oil on a skillet. But always, it seamed, even as Squall tried his best to keep his distance from the insane box, did it fallow him.

Finally, he was backed up against the wall with the largest frame. The box was covered in its own dark phlegm, as it already flooded the floor with it.

Then, it spoke to him in a voice that sounded so much like Cloak. "You couldn't keep me locked up!" That was when, in a burst of uneasy rage, Squall snatched the box up and threw it out the window. The glass, the sky, and the white sand, shattered together like the same picture. Beyond it was simply darkness.

His relief far from faded, he stared at the blackness outside as it creeped over the sill, eating away at the curtains, the wall, the bed, and the vanity; continuously pinning Squall into one spot. The advancement did not stop until he was completely engulfed. The silence became as all as the darkness, all that was heard was the fuzzy noise that many called the 'sound of silence'. Soon, that small, whistling fuzz became the faint sound of white noise. Fallowing it, he saw a thin line of light that looked low to the ground. The white noise became louder as he neared. The small line of light, he found out, was the light shining under something, like a door. He felt about until he found a knob and a keyhole. A weight was slung around his neck, and he felt it to be a key on the end of a beaded necklace. He felt the ends of it, and knew it to be the black key he had earlier. Putting it in the lock, he twisted the handle. The lock opened with a click, and Squall turned the doorknob.

He stepped into a room lit by a single bulb, situated right in the middle of the ceiling. The odd room had five walls: each one with a door, though, the only one with a proper door was the one he just came through. The walls were painted with ruddy orange lead paint that looked as old and worn as everything else he had seen previously. Though orange on most of the room, in some places it was a dingy fuchsia, a dusty blue, or a snotty green splash of paint, as if the painter had thrown a tantrum, or just got bored. The rooms that the other four walls led into were all dark, but Squall could see a window in two of them; windows situated high towards the ceiling, like basement windows. It was dark outside, and snowing hard.

In the centre of the floor, right under the hanging light bulb, was a cylindrical stool covered in red shag, and sitting on it, with her back to him, was Cloak.

Squall looked down at his feet to find thick, black, hiking boots, tied up and matted with dark sludge. A long red coat, with hem that looked a bit frayed, hid the tops of those boots. Over that coat, he wore another. It was of black leather, lined with red fur, the cuffs rolled up and the collar flattened against his shoulders. Around his neck was a thick, woollen scarf, striped red and black. He dressed like he had just been out in a blizzard. From under the scarf, hung the black key.

He should have known Cloak would have heard him come with those heavy boots. She turned around, as he made ready to run out the door, but found it closed.

"Come now Appalling Pace," she started with a chuckle, "don't be sore you failed the assassination the first time 'round. You just need more of plan next time. You don't do well on the up and up."

Her words sounded so callous. "How am I to get a second chance?" He shouted at her. "I'm going to be executed for that stunt! Why the hell did I even agree to kill my own dad?"

Cloak jumped up from her seat, snapping forward quicker then Squall could fallow with his eye. "I did you a fuckn' favour you ungrateful prick! There's no one! NO ONE! You hear? They're all out to get you anyway! Guess who put you in Cold Storage in the first place, huh?! If they're goinna treat you as a threat, you might as well become one!" She had managed to back Squall up against the wall on the door's immediate left. He looked inside the dark room. It had an old hardwood floor, but nothing was in there, not even a window.

Clearly, he saw what Cloak had been looking at before he came in, and what the source of the white noise was. A television at the point of the pentagon shaped room! It was an old model, one with rabbit ear antennae, it was made of a dark wood that looked stained, and stood off the floor on four wooden legs, one of which, was taped.

It held somewhat of an ominous aura. "What is that TV for?" Squall asked, staring wide at it as if the thing would jump and spit like the jewellery box.

Cloak's demeanour turned quickly at the question. "Oh, it's a lovely thing. You should get well aquatinted with it, eh yah." She smiled, two of her tongues shooting out for no apparent reason. "It plays all the channels of your subconscious."

"Subconscious? I thought that was just a buzz term?"

Cloak scoffed at the question. "Then tell that to this." She held up her hand, showing him a black schorl key that blended in so effortlessly to her hands. It was an exact replica of the key he wore around his neck.

He reached out to grab it to examine closer, but Cloak pulled it away. "Hands off Coppa Feel, you have your own." Well, that explained that. It was a copy, or…his was a copy, either way, they were exact replicas.

"You used that copy to get into here and view every memory and moment I've stored in my subconscious?!" _Is that how you know everything I know, and everything I've forgotten?_

"I can get into more places with this than here. And we're the only two in here that have these fail-safe keys."

"Who gave you that copy?"

She turned her nose away from him smugly. "I'm still mad at you for letting the Galbadian Wad live. So I'm not going to tell you." And Squall didn't feel like pushing it. There was another thought that came to mind.

"I'm not dreaming anymore, am I?"

"Define 'dreaming'?"

"The process of the brain sorting out all information gathered throughout the day and prior days during semiconscious, or REM sleep."

Cloak smiled with vigour. "Then you're not dreaming! Let's talk." Grabbing Squall by the elbows, she threw him onto the stool forcefully. He was surprised that it actually hurt, since he knew he definitely was not awake.

"Isn't the mind wonderful?" She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck, her face coming much too close for Squall's liking. He could actually **smell** her breath! It was a strange scent of must and metal.

"How did I get inside my own mind?"

"I like your shoot-'em-in-the-heart attitude." Cloak cooed, one of her tongues flickered into his ear. Squall flinched as it felt like a razor had just cut him there. "You and I both know you're telepathic. And I've done my homework. This isn't the first time you used your precious 'gift'."

It felt like something was dripping down his ear where she had licked it. He wiped a bit of it off with his finger and looked at it. Blood, and he could smell it. Tangy and sour, it smelled more like acid then actual blood. On his finger, it started to fizz and steam like actual acid before it completely evaporated. How, and why was it he had access to all his senses inside his mind?

"What are some of those 'other' times I've used my gift?" He ordered, as if he was talking to a lower ranking SeeD or candidate.

"Right here." She answered, holding up a remote with a single button. Pressing the button with her knife of a claw, the static on the TV instantly cleared to show a piece of a mosaic wheel, the colour of which, was grey with various highlights depending on where the light came from. On each tile was a cameo, many depicting random animals, some had bizarre astrological signs, several were quite abstract, but Squall knew each and everyone of them, and what they meant!

Her hand still on the remote, Cloak pressed the button again, and the segment of the wheel shifted to another, with different pictures, and a different angle of light on them. The resolution on the screen was spectacular for such an old, beat up piece of junk. A tile was highlighted with a pulsing green hue, and shifted all over the segment until it landed on another. Cloak pressed the button again on this, and out popped a menu, written not in words, but odd scribbles that would have been meaningless jargon to anyone else, but Squall knew what they were, too. Changing several of the options, the menu ceased, fallowed by an immaculately rendered scene. Squall knew it very well indeed.

A math test he did when he was only a Junior Classmen. He had gotten a hundred percent on it and the other kids were amazed, since the instructor at the time was known for giving tough tests. When asked how it was, all he could think of was how it seamed the answers were spoken in his head, as if he prodded his instructor's mind for them. He saw several more of those, but he already knew he had used his 'gift' on several of those tests without knowing.

Ending that scene, Cloak went back to the wheel and got another memory. A training exercise when he was thirteen. He remembered how, so effortlessly, he had been two steps ahead of his opponent. Again, it was as if he knew before hand every move his attacker would make.

Then, he saw one that nearly made him cry. He was out in the vacuum of space, jettisoned himself from an Estharian escape pod to save the girl he owed his sanity to. For a while, he could not reach Rinoa, but he had sent out a telepathic message, and she responded back. At the time, he had dismissed it as the talents from Ellone, though it had always felt like it had been him to do all the work. Did Ellone give him a boost? Like a radio tower boosts the range of a cell phone?

"And now that you're more familiar with your mutation," snickered Cloak, exiting back to the wheel, "you're starting to read your own mind."

"Wait, how do I read my one mind if it's my own?"

"You ask too many questions. Look, writing isn't the same a reading."

_Reading my own mind?_ When he had attempted to read Cloak's mind, had he read his own? It explained that well enough, but Strychnine…?"

"Oh, and by the way…"Cloak continued, her smile quickened to a grimace, "don't you ever, EVER, sick Strychnine on me again! GOT IT?!"

_Sick Strychnine on you? You seemed to be unable to detect each other's existence before, what happened suddenly…wait. When I junctioned myself to her, it must have made both of you aware of each other!_ Would that be the same for any Guardian Force he junctioned with? Cloak was right on one thing; he did ask too many questions.

§

Rinoa still wasn't sure if seeing him was the right thing to do. While Laguna was hung up on the 'Sorceress' Curse' theory, she couldn't help but blame herself for Squall's mental illness. Then, there was that 'Blight'. What was the 'Blight' exactly? So she sat, and blamed herself. Was coming into his life even a good thing? Of course, there wasn't much of a choice _but_ to come into her life, but she had brought it among herself to change him, even if it was unintentional.

Her favourite movies had often include those hard, rugged, cold men that were changed by loving, patient, warm women. But those movies disappointed her now. The odd book, she found on the desk beside the bed. Did someone find it and put it there?

How did it happen? Why was Squall put in a mental institute? Why did he attack the Prime Minister of Esthar? Sitting beside his bed, she placed a finger onto the grey insignia on his forehead. She was already told the meaning of it, that he was condemned to death. The skin around it was badly bruised. Rinoa put her hand on in his greying, limp hair, and felt that his scalp was cold. When she pulled her hand out, though, she was terrified to see she was holding a wad of hair. Looking down at Squall's head, she immediately saw the place where the hair was drastically thinned.

She watched as she let the clump of hair fall to the floor. Gravely, it reminded her of the mess she was in. "You did this! You did this!" it seamed to say to her, and she almost felt like crying with her consent.

_Wait? What the hell am I doing?_ Why was she sitting down and taking all the blows? She had to right her wrongs. She didn't know if she could help Squall, but she could keep her promise to others!

Currently, the Prime Minister was of no help, and she really didn't trust the other Ministers that much, especially not that Minister Gatchman. She would enlist the help of the only other person in Esthar that she knew had the resources. Ellone had warned her against it, but she had to.

She had to get the help of Dr. Odine.


	10. A Tattoo?

10

A Tattoo?

The morning staff returned to the Parameter Search Medical Centre to find the automatic doors jammed open. By the front door were the two bodies, the broken pillars, and the bloody, busted floor tiles. The group scattered to make sure everything was okay. They found only one more body, the one of Dr. Irma Zebarth, none other; Nida was nowhere to be found.

They could not locate the patient that came in yesterday. Though, it did not look like much of a struggle was put up in the recovery ward.

The computers were scoured for any signs of hacking. There was no sign of the worst, but they did find the files that dealt with their recent patient, as well as the translation of the tattoo on Squall's shoulder. Several staff members recognized the name, but what were they to do…

§

The decision on the tattoo was quickly deemed 'high profile' simply because it was labelled **high profile**. So the translation skipped the usual stages of scrutiny and headed all the way to the Estharian Minister of Health and Welfare: Sutton Nix. What a surprise it was for him to receive those four lines. The name 'Squall Leonhart' was familiar to him. But when he looked up 'Yaulny' on his digital atlas, he became confused. Like many of the people, he was fed the story that 'Squall Leonhart' was Estharian. If that were the case, what was he doing in the west?

He figured the question was best hit on the head. Ward was still in critical condition, so he went to the next best source: Kiros. The only trick was to find him first.

Surprisingly, he was in the main computer lab, furiously closing and opening windows on the holographic screen.

"Seagill." Sutton started forcefully, startling Kiros.

Still in his chair, he swivelled around to face the old man. "You bellowed, Nix?"

"Uh, yes. Got an interesting message just minutes ago. Ah…concerning sat missing patient at se Perimeter Rescue. Se origin vas taken from a text tattoo; vritten in Galbadian."

_A text tattoo?_ "A text tattoo?" Voiced Kiros.

"Quite right. I brought a copy for you to see." Under his poncho, he took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to the other minister. "I know of sis 'Squall Leonhart', but I'm confused as to this 'Nors Yaulny Institute'?"

Kiros looked the typed words, his brow creasing firmly with confusion. "'Nort Yaulny'? Dat place is still around?"

"You know of sis place I take it?"

"Vell, yes. De Nort Yaulny Institute is an asylum in de jungle bordering Timber and Galbadia, sometimes known as 'Sout Monterosa Institute'. Delling built it soon after completion of his D-District Prison so de public didn't tink he vas an ogre. Kids still make up ghost stories about dat place. It even inspired a few triller flicks."

"Sounds colourful. But, if you mind my asking, vat vould young Leonhart haff been doing in se vest?"

"Vell, he is a SeeD. I vould tink he travels a lot."

"SeeD?"

"Yeah. Big ass mercenary guild. Top of de line. Dey're trained from Gardens in boet Galbadia and Balamb, but SeeDs are traditionally Balambese."

"So he's…"

"Alcauldian, actually. More specifically; East Balambese, but de culture between de east and vest is so different."

"Oh…really. Se vay people talk about it, I could haff svorn se young soldier vas Estarian."

"Yeah, people haff a hard time believing dat Estar is not alone." Kiros looked back at the paper with a leisurely glance.

Then, somewhere in his mind, he heard Laguna speak: "_Oh, c'mon buddy. Sey made two sorceresses angry. Sey haff se Sorceress's Curse. SAT dude hoo attacked me has se Sorceress's Curse."_ Thus, Kiros, Minister of Justice, former Galbadian Soldier, Killer of Monster Bugs and One Dragon, and Exceptionally Patient Friend, had what both him and Ward called a 'Laguna Moment'.

"Hey, Nix," started Kiros, "vy vould you tink Sabre is getting executed so soon?"

_Vow, sat question came out of novere._ Sutton looked more annoyed them puzzled that the subject was suddenly changed. "…Vy do you care about se intruder?"

Kiros stood up from his seat to look Sutton in the eye. "Because. Of de seventeen years I haff been in Parliament, tventy four people vere executed, and out of dose tventy four, seven vere in some pretty rough shape. Ve never botered to sentence dem, dey vould simply die anyvay. Vich dey did."

Sutton looked very oblivious. "And you're se Minister of Justice. So?"

"I vasn't de one hoo suggested it! It vas sat vich Gatchman and her silver tongue. She had us all vrapped around her little pink finger!"

"Vell, he did attack se Prime Minster and killed sirty five osers, four of vich died later in se hospital." Looking at the confounded expression on Kiros, he had to guess that there was more to his reasoning. "Sabre and Squall are von in se same, aren't sey?" He really didn't sound very astonished at all.

"Please don't tell anyvon else." Begged Kiros. "But de von hoo saved us could be corrupted."

"You're referring to se Sorceress' Curse, aren't you?"

Kiros shook his head regretfully.

"I sought you vere better sen sat Seagill!" Reprimanded Sutton. "Vat vould change se mind of such a practical man?"

"Vell, you see, dats vere dis name comes in." States Kiros, picking up the paper and pointing to the name of the psychiatrist on it. "Dis person vould know somting. If I could get ahold of him, or her, I could…"

"You can't just pick somevon up from a foreign nation!" Fumed Sutton. "Sat idea has 'International Incident' vritten all over it!"

"Not if he...or she comes villingly…"

"…You've been around se Prime Minister too long. Sat man rots se brain, I tell you."

"It's not an international incident!" He got a very nasty sneer from Sutton for that. "Look, dis doctor vould know someting. I'll just ooze some autority and stall de execution vile you go pick said shrink up."

"Me?! But your Galbadian is so much better sen mine!"

"But Gatchman vould cream you in de House, and anyvere else for dat matter." Not wanting to argue more, Kiros took Sutton's wizened old hand and shoved the paper in it. "De hospital is de only building in de Monterosa Yaulny jungle, you can't miss it. And if you do, use a scan."

For a long while, the two just stood there, looking at each other: Sutton with a look of extreme distaste, and Kiros with a fierce longing for him to go through with it.

Finally, the elder minister spoke. "I still sink sis is an international incident."

"Vell, now you know vat it's like to deal vit Prime Minister Loire." Kiros assured him with a pat on the back, while he shoved him out of the door. Never had Kiros Seagill had so much admiration for Laguna then when he closed the mechanical door behind him, and immediately regretted his actions.

§

Rinoa looked up at the flawless looking building, shimmering in the early light of dawn. She couldn't believe her luck that she found the place, though it wasn't so much luck as the fact that they guy advertised his name like an all night diner. Even the plaque on the front of the building was written in four different languages!

The door was a round portal etched with bizarre glyphs, and a strange, glowing green boss in the middle. Rinoa touched the boss curiously with her haggard, electrified fingers. The boss glowed slightly brighter, but nothing more happened. Putting her whole palm on the boss, she pushed down on it like a button, noting that there was a bit of a click as she did so. A mechanical eyeball appeared right in front of her, and she jumped backwards in surprise, landing on her rear. The eyeball had a glowing blue pupil with a retractable metallic blue iris, it was attached to a dark stem that extended from a round hole above the door.

"_Graun frid, ürgmin._" [Name, please. The mechanical eye stated in a feminine voice over.

_Damn, Estharian again._ "Uhm…_Ip lis Galbadias keen?_" It wasn't such a long shot, considering that Wayside Galbadian was the third language on the lab's plaque.

When the eye heard that phrase, it took a moment to travel through its commuter data for a match, and found the Galbadian tongues.

It began again in Wayside Galbadian, "Name please." Those two little words meant so much to Rinoa, now she only hoped she could get in.

"Rinoa Heartily." She answered it.

The eye took another few seconds to run that name through. "Wait here, please." It contracted back up into its little hole then, leaving her at the front 'porch' of the lab, wondering how long a 'moment' was. The seconds lagged away, and the sights of the city behind her were not enough to redirect her mind away from the exact reason she was there. More moments lagged by. More…more…just a bit more…possibly a bit more…hopefully just a bit more…

The round door retracted suddenly, surprising Rinoa. Dr. Odine himself stood in front of it with a suspiciously wide grin.

"Sorceress Rinoa!" He greeted loudly as he bounded over the portal's round mouth. Excitedly, he took hold of the girl's hand and dragged her inside the lab. Now she knew how Squall felt when she dragged him about.

She was dragged down a magnificent hallway, donned with a carpet down the middle, coloured in purple, gold, and black. A hallway of shimmering metallic pink, was held up by iridescent blue buttresses. In the middle of every second beam was an LED light, rounded in shape.

"Oh, so good of you to come Sorceress." Started Odine in a very warm manner. "I've never had ze honour of hosting for a Descendent of Hyne. I haff been vorking on many vonderful zings since you last came…" Rinoa was, again, dragged down another strange hall, one with wall-to-wall carpeting in a dark blue colour that had faint glitter on it, with sleek green walls covered in various grooves. The ceiling was of the same colour as the walls, but with triangular lights arranged into hexagons.

"…Zrough my studies of astrophysics, I haff come across an amazing tid-bit. Apparently, zere iz somzing behind an Event Horizon, but ze trick iz to get a probe down zere vitout it being pulled apart by spaghetti friction, or getting lost to us completely…" So much did Rinoa wish it were Laguna ranting on and on, at least she knew what he was saying. Odine took her down another hallway, one with a floor of yellow, green, and blue tiles shaped into pentagons. The walls were a little less reflective then the others, painted a dusty rose, but had some odd sconces on the walls with dark, mechanical eyes instead of flames. The ceiling was black, but held myriads of tiny lights on it that made it look like a night sky alight with stars.

"…And so, I took to some of my more primitive measures and applied more of ze basics to ze problem. Zat vas how I, Dr. Odine, had invented a vay of mind control, but vit ze unfortunate side effect of psychosis…" Now, she was led down a hall of transparent walls and ceiling, showing off the magnificence of an aquarium that knew no equal. It was filled with corals, plants, shells, fish, molluscs, polyps, worms, and a couple of aquatic mammals and reptiles. The floors were decked in grand mosaics of aquatic life, Rinoa wondered if Odine had a liking for oceanography. Small, domed lights of various sizes were placed on the walls randomly as bubbles, allowing for more light, as the aquarium was a bit dim.

"…So, vit zat, I come to my advancements in deep-sea ocean exploring. I'm vorking on a new submarine zat vill perform better in ze abyssnal zone. So far, all ozer submarines for zat sort of diving are cumbersome, and greatly unsafe. Hopefully, I can also make a suitable submersible to explore a hot vater vent, or a magma chamber…"

"Yeah, sounds great." Rinoa interrupted before he could go into seismology. "I'm really not here to talk about exploration and the like…"

"Exploration is fascinating. No?" Odine began again with his rant. "Since you came here, I've been talking about nossing but exploration."

_Really? Must have been spacing out a lot._

"Not only zat," he continued, "but ze search for ozer life." Her interest was finally captured. Was he referring to that alien scare that Seifer and his posse had talked about so much. "In fact, I vould show you." He, then, dragged Rinoa into another corridor, in front of a lift. He motioned her to sit down as he did the same, and they were lifted up. Odine took her hand once more and led her into the far room. It was the room with the large tile on the floor.

The doctor shuffled over to a large console. "Observe, Sorceress, as you vill vitness a visual transmission zat has not originated on Inari, or any ozer known satellites!" He pressed a button, and the lights in the room dimmed as the tile began to glow. A holographic, mountainous terrain formed, with something that looked like Ragnarokk's big brother hovering over it. It was the visual Laguna had witnessed first. And, just the same, Rinoa had no idea what to make of the actions it took. Though, it was still interesting.

"It's our first extraterrestrial broadcast." The doctor giddily stated. "And ze best part is: ve zink it iz a zreat." He smiled as if that was a good thing.

_You smile as if that's a good thing._ Rinoa thought as she gave Odine the blankest, glassiest stare she had ever had, thinking he was an insane masochist, insane pessimist, or someone who needed to get out more.

"I hardly think that's something to smile about." She snapped. "You know nothing about these aliens, you have no idea what they are capable of. For all they know, they're looking for cheep labour, or experiments!"

"I know very vell vat zey vant." He was still smiling.

"You do?"

"Zey vant Echo Sludge."

"Echo what?" As an answer given, she was hit over the head with a bat, successfully knocking her out cold. Limply falling to the floor in a heap, her stealthy attacker stood behind, admiring her work.

"Still se best vay to subdue a sorceress." Smirked Gatchman. She threw the bat aside, landing beside the unconscious girl with a clank. "Just as I've said Odine. You're remaining puzzle piece is here."

§

Kiros stretched all of his resources, and oozed all of his authority merely trying to find Phyllis Gatchman. Sutton had reserved the fastest airship he could find just for the purpose of getting to the Monterosa/Yaulny Jungle.

On the trip, he had with him an electronic, hand-held, Galbadian-Estharian dictionary, and a single pilot who was only there to fly the small personnel craft. It was to Sutton's great concern that his mission be kept as covert as possible, for he was still uneasy about his own acquisitions of an 'international incident'

Sitting on one of the only two back seats, Sutton aimed to brush up on as much Galbadian as possible. Though, he was very distressed about he fact that there were about three different dialects of Galbadian. The database was a bit old, and only translated to Classical Galbadian, he hoped that that was good enough.

"We're loosing all GPS and communication links Minister Nix." The pilot started, trying to mask his anxiety. "Should I turn back?" All of Esthar's terrain vehicles and aircraft were connected with GPS, and a way to communicate via several stations if ever one was in distress, or needed directions. It was considered a very bad idea to go far without such aids.

Sutton looked over the pilot's shoulder at the disabled equipment. "No, I vas expecting sis. Ve're over international vaters." He had already guessed that a pilot of Esthar would not like going this way, leaving Estharian waters was pretty much like leaving the map. The real part of the trip was just beginning, not even Sutton was sure of what was out there.

Even as the small craft roared over the wide ocean berth, the clock ticked. Sutton actually _heard_ something tick.

"D'you here sat?" He started, absently staring at the back of the craft.

"Here vat?"

"I here ticking."

Once he said 'ticking', the pilot really started to panic. "A bomb!"

Attempting to turn the craft around, Sutton found himself fighting the pilot for the controls, trying to keep them on course, and also wondering why he was doing so when he was against the plan in the first place. Just, where was that ticking coming from? Too busy fighting over the controls to keep on an insane course, which he didn't even promise in the first place, he couldn't very well leave to find the source. But what if it was a bomb? Then who would place it? It wasn't like anybody knew where they were heading, and if they did, they probably wouldn't care.

Two pairs of hands vied for control of the steering mechanism; a red metal bearing in the control board. Situated at the far corner was a speaker, used to emit vocal computer messages to the pilots, such as proximity notices, weather conditions, landing statistics, and the like. That speaker crackled with an analog static, unusual, as the computer was completely digital. Though, both the men stopped their squabbling and looked over at it. As they did so, both could hear the ticking: loud, and ominous. The speaker grew to dead silence as it was stared at, but only for a few moments before it sparked to life, literally, with sparks.

Jumping back, with cusses flying, both the pilot and passenger forgot about the controls as they watched the speaker fry before them. The light show ended with a puff of smoke, the speaker was left smouldering and charred.

"Vas dat supposed to happen?" Began the pilot, grasping for bearings.

"I don't sink so?" They both jumped at the sound of a tapping on the windshield. At first, they saw nothing, dismissing it as a bit of runaway dust. Then, the ticking stopped, and there ceased any sound at all. Curiously, Sutton moved towards the glass, attempting to see where they were. Before them stretched no sea, but a vast desert of black sand.

The pilot also noticed this. "De hell…? A black desert?"

"I've never heard of a black desert?" Pondered Sutton out loud. "At least not a literal one." He stepped closer to see what else was out there, but someone slamming into the windshield from above hindered his view. The two in the craft nearly jumped back at the sight of a human being hanging upside down, a spray of blood and spit visible on the glass in front of an open mouth. Skin all tight, coloured a rotting brown. The fingers splayed out on the glass, clawing at it as if to get inside. The person wore some ragged form of robe, dirty and wrinkled, torn and frayed at the long sleeved cuffs. And the eyes, the one part of it with any colour, bloodshot sclera with a bright golden iris each; pupils so small, one could hardly see them.

"Good GOD! Ver did dat come from?!" Shouted the pilot as he leapt for the controls again, blindly and busily searching for the windshield wipers. But to Sutton, it looked like he was going for the steering ball. So, again, the two were fighting over the controls, none of them noticing that the scorched speaker was once again brand new. There was nobody on the windshield, and there was no black desert beneath them. It had all been an illusion. Squall had found them, and he did not want them to get to Dr. Raven, no matter what they felt about it. But, he did not know how to control those new powers, so he did not know that his message was sent in the form of a psychotic image of his own fears. He only sensed the panic in the two men's minds as they squabbled over the controls in a desperate attempt at order. And then, the craft dove nose first into the sea, never resurfacing. The minds of the two just seamed to slip out of Squall's receiver, wriggling loose like eels. Then, their transmission was gone for good.

For so long, he lay there in the darkness, eyes aimed blindly at the ceiling. The emptiness those transmissions left echoing deftly in the speaker. On the bedside table sat that book, and a little round drone that currently lay dormant.

Barely, did he register the door sliding open. Cardinal attentively stepped inside the darkened room, not really knowing if Squall was awake, asleep, or dead.

"_Squall?"_ She thought unsurely.

"Cardinal?" He whispered. "If I am telepathic…and I'm pretty damn sure I am by now…" Swallowing first, he stopped his sentence only to think how to continue. "…can telepathy kill?"

The Shemoomba wasn't quite sure how to answer that, but was pretty sure Squall could get the answer either way. "_Sorceress Rinoa is gone."_ She started instead. "_Do you know where she is?"_

"Rinoa…" Regardless of its truth, the title still sounded alien to him. Still, having to look for her gave him the perfect excuse to leave that loathsome silence that seamed to be crumbling on itself. Why was it, but surfing through all the stations for the girl felt so…therapeutic? Then, out of the thousands of stations he surveyed in a single second, he found her. The disgust and dismay of killing the Minister and the pilot left him with a flick of the broom. What was broadcast scared him.

Dr. Klimova was just walking towards her patient's room to check up on him, when the closed door was shredded from the inside, and out jumped the Sabre Beast. Nearly dropping to her knees at the sight of the voracious monster's awakening, her fears for her life were dropped when the Sabre Beast left in the opposite direction. Right behind the beast was another, smaller orange beast with a book in its arm.

As soon as Squall had started to arch his neck, his hands start to claw; flatten; and become blades, Cardinal knew that something was defiantly happening. As the Sabre Beast, the full junction of him and Strychnine, he leapt off the bed and effortlessly slashed the door open. Cardinal grabbed the book on the desk and started to run after him.

Grabbing Squall by the end of his tail, she climbed up onto his back, the book being held firmly in her mouth. It seemed he did not notice a hitchhiker, even as she hauled herself onto his shoulder blades, the book once again, held under her arm. His long, slimey green hair whipped about her, and it smelled of industrial chemicals, making her wince unncontrolably.

Cardinal was not unnoticed at all. Squall knew very well who was on his back, but that was beside his goal. She could come as long as she didn't get in the way, but Cloak refused to give him any directions. In fact, she wasn't even speaking! He was nearly about to hit a wall when his hair was yanked forcefully, his back arching in response, flailing his arms before him for balance.

"_Turn left!"_ He heard Cardinal. It was clear to him that her goal was pretty much the same as his, so he turned left. Still, he wasn't too thrilled with having has hair yanked like that. Cardinal got the hint when she felt her own hair being tugged harshly, a telepathic message from Squall that he was displeased.

"_Turn right, up stairs!"_ She ordered again, and he took it without question. Cardinal saw how he used the bone snout of his helmet to find the stairs. Any person she saw in front of them, she squeaked and motioned for them to move away, even though Squall was running pretty fast, and she wasn't sure anybody was even paying attention to her as they screamed and ran for cover. Cardinal continued to manoeuvre him through the palace, but there were some close calls. Since he was moving fast, cornering was difficult. Eventually, Cardinal would call a turn just seconds before it came up, so that Squall could hit the wall with his feat instead of his head, and simply push himself into the right direction.

When they came up to a corridor that lead to a dead end, Cardinal was at a loss for directions.

"_WALL!"_ She simply called, hoping that Squall would stop. But, he did not. Bracing for the crash, she was relieved and rewarded with the sight of Squall slicing the wall to shrapnel with his blade hands. He used his snout, his tail, and his feet to judge if the hole was large enough. The whole process of slash and examine took a mere few seconds before he was through, running across the House. The politicians, all sitting in their benches, therein screamed as the Sabre Beast dashed into the middle of the huge room. Cardinal herself was distressed, fearing that someone would get hurt.

Looking around quick, it was not hard to miss the huge window made up of triangular panes, situated on a slanting wall.

"_Window, to your left!"_ Squall took the direction, and jumped right through it, the shattering glass not hindering him one bit. The people left behind were of different sorts though; they noticed what the intruder was right away.

"It's Sabre!" A woman shouted.

"No way!" Shouted another. "He's up again?!"

"Someone, get a troop after that damn thing!" Came another shout. "Kill it if you have to!"

Squall landed on the Palace roof hard. His bony talons scratched the plastique alloy as he made a sharp right. Cardinal held on to him tight, and the book, even tighter. There was shouting from the palace they just jumped out of, and their running room was running out. Clearly, there wasn't any building around the whole Palace for thirty or so meters!

He could sense the apprehension in the Shemoomba. "Tell me when to jump." He hissed. Cardinal, at first, didn't know where that voice came from, it sounded so alien.

"Tell me when to jump!" He hissed again, alerting her to the source of the voice, his voice.

"_Your insane!"_ Cardinal argued.

"That's what the tattoo says." Counter Squall. "Tell me when to JUMP!"

She barely had time to argue some more. "_JUMP!"_ At her great insistence, Squall squatted low on the roof, his hands held beside his helmet. Like a spring wound up with tension, he leapt off the roof. Cardinal covered her eyes, wishing against gravity that they would land on something besides the freakishly low ground. Squall didn't realize the danger of the stunt he pulled until he was several meters into the air.

_What the hell did I just do?_ What made him think he could pull off a thirty-meter jump, even with the added help of Strychnine? There was so little time to think of what to do, his jump hit its height, and in a millisecond he would start to descend. Cardinal felt their momentum slow down, and embraced for the dreaded feeling of falling several hundred stories.

"_Taugi!_" [Float! Shouted Squall in his hissing gargle, casting the spell over him. At his shoulders appeared white, feathered wings of light, the very appendages that would enable him to glide the rest of the jump out. Cardinal opened her eyes, slowly, awed over the disbelief that they were not falling. It was of much satisfaction when she saw the bright wings at her ride's shoulders.

From her early morning trip to the translators, Ellone came back to the palace just in time to see something jump off the roof. She couldn't help but gap with tension as the thing attempted that suicide of a leap. A flash of light appeared by it, and something like wings appeared. The daredevil slowly descended, landing gently on the domed roof of the building in front it.

Squinting greatly, her hand shielding her eyes from as much light as possible, she could glimpse the gleam of two blades on the hands, turquoise green skin, a long tail, long, darker green hair, and a white head.

_Squall!_ Ellone could also see something on his back. It was small, wore orange, and had spiky hair. _Oh, dear God! Did he kidnap a child?!_

Holding her hand up and her palm open, she whistled for a cab. Thankfully, Esthar was in no shortages of taxies. One hovered right down the translucent blue road, coloured bright orange with a green and white stripe along the sides, the sign of an Estharian taxi.

Ellone dove into the back. "Fallow that dare devil!" She ordered the overweight driver in Estharian. The taxi took off.

Squall's advancement over the buildings was a flawless spectacle of acrobatics and sheer insanity. How was it a blind man did that so well? But Ellone did not let up for a second. Every time he took a daring turn, she was there to give the driver orders to turn, and obediently, he did, hoping for a nice fat tip for the trouble.

Cardinal could not fathom what Squall was going after. She had ceased giving directions as soon as they were outside, all she did was tell him when to jump. So far, it worked, but the use of his hands was something to consider. Useful as weapons and lethal tools, they were, not anchors. But, Squall managed. Even the pain from his nuke burn was but a dull throb in his current form, giving him better concentration for his jumps. With each one of them, he could sense his distance closing; he was almost there. From the bizarre tops of the buildings, he descended a bit.

"Ve're nearing Odine's Lab." The cab driver announced.

_Odine's Lab?_ Thought Ellone. _Is that your destination._ "Driver! Head to Odine's Lab!"

"Yes ma'am." He sounded all to thrilled to go, since it sounded like his lunatic run would nearly be over.

Squall beat them too it, landing on the top of the lab. Cardinal was right up front to see the spectacle that was him; slicing through the alloys and synthetic metals of the oddly shaped roof. He was inside in seconds, the Shemoomba still clinging to his back.

As he disappeared out of sight, Ellone jumped out of the taxi, literally closing the door on the driver's insistence that she pay the fare. He still didn't leave, even as she came up to the door, braced with three shiny blue bracers that formed a sort of triskelon on the round portal. The main entrance was firmly locked. Though, her memories of the place were not the fondest, she couldn't let Squall go through the same experience as her, and the feeling was enough to convince her to get inside no matter what.

There was no way she was able to break into a door that advanced. She needed help.

"_Current course is possible…"_ A voice spoke inside her head. It was coarse, mechanical, and deep. It was the voice of her Guardian Force EMP8000X, called Amp for short. He was relatively new to her, and she had yet to try him out in any aspect. She did not call him, but junctioned to him.

The cab driver was witness to the transformation. But he just sat there and shrugged. "Why do I get all the freaks?" Then drove off.


	11. Summons

11

Summons 

Odine had Rinoa lain on a large, circular table on her stomach. Completely topless, on her back were four ports in single file. Four, long, translucent green tubes hung from the palm of some sort of crane. Down the arms of the crane were the tubes, tethered to the metal with heavy black tape. There was one more, smaller tube that extended the length of the crane, but was only for hydraulic lift.

The good doctor plodded towards the lift that would take him to a balcony. Above many instruments stood that balcony, holding an impressive console with all sorts of blinking lights, touch screens, levers, and other such instruments more. Odine started to fiddle with some of them while Phyllis stood bellow, examining an interesting ring she found on Rinoa. Oddly, it wasn't on her finger, but worn like a necklace along with another, more plain ring.

The ring was made from a material completely alien to the universe, and bore an image much too close to the Last God crest.

Taking hold of Rinoa by her chin, she lifted her head up so she could see the ring was obviously hers. The girl was awakened by the movement, but was much too groggy from Odine's drugs. Phyllis shoved the ring into her line of blurry vision.

"Se Last God ring!" The woman shouted, shaking the object in front of her furiously. "Vere did you get it?!" Even though Phyllis did speak Galbadian, Rinoa didn't know what she meant, even if she was sober. All she saw was a shining, silvery ring.

The minister became more impatient with her silence. "Vere did you get sis?!" She repeated, unknowingly turning the ring slightly. As soon as the light accentuated the face of the lion, Rinoa immediately recognized whose ring it was.

"Squall…" she muttered through her haze. "…his ring…" Reflexively, she tried to reach out for it, but her body was too numbed. Phyllis let her go carelessly, but Rinoa barely registered her chin hitting the hard table.

"So sis isn't your ring sen," Gatchman started to herself, studying the object in the laboratory light. "You vill help me find sis 'Squall', and 'he' vill tell me vere he got sis ring.

"Are you talking about ze vezer?!" Odine shouted from up on the balcony. "Or are you referring to a person?!" Gatchman looked up at the doctor in annoyance, not liking eavesdropping. "Because, you know," continued Odine, "about a mont back, a young man by zat name came here! He and several ozer mercenaries vere hired to kill Ultimicia. Ze Sorceress here vas vit zem. She may be referring to zat young man!"

Well, that information helped her a lot. "Vat vas sis 'young man' like?"

"Oh, he vasn't tall, vasn't short! He vas quite distant…aloof…stern. And I go ze impression zat he sout he vas better zen most people, even Dr. Odine!" When he said his name, he spoke as if he was announcing a king. "I liked his attitude. Spoke very little Ezztarian, had an accent…"

"Accent?! Vat kind of accent?!"

"It reminded me of ze resistance days. Yes, now vat vas zat language ve used?…Hmm…oh yes! Alcauldian!"

_Alcauldian!_ "And sis 'Squall', did he haff brown hair?"

"Very, hair like polished walnut!" He rubbed his chin as he tried to remember more. "Eyes like cyan ink, a nasty scar across ze nose…Oh! And a stare zat could turn your blood into powder!"

_Alcauldian? Blue eyes? Brown hair? A scar across the nose…or a scar DIAGNALLY across the nose! _"Odine! What's the time!"

"A little after tvelve! But don't vorry, ze procedure vill not take…" Phyllis did not listen to the rest of the doctor's rant, but ran off with no explanation whatsoever. "…Long." Odine finished his sentence, wondering why Phyllis Gatchman was in such a hurry.

She needed to get back to the palace. The description of Squall she received sounded too much like Sabre, who would be executed in less then five hours! She left before the alarm went off in the facility. As for Odine, he was interrupted, and quite annoyed with the sudden blaring.

"_Ing shckamn ach hüvock!_" [(Estharian profanities) "Computer! Vat's ze damn problem?!"

_"Intruder detected. Invading srough se nort east ving."_ The computer spoke in a very deep, masculine voice.

"Zen sick ze mites on him, or her! Zat is vy I made zem!"

_"Affirmative."_ The mites looked a lot like metal olives with four spider-like legs each. The end of each leg was honed to razor sharpness for attacking. Each silvery mite had five beady green eyes: two to detect motion, two to detect heat, and one to detect X-rays, and each one had a top-of-the-line A.I.. Odine made them especially for the purpose of security, not just as attack drones, but also watch drones and something to exterminate pests.

There were small, square doors located by every door and window in the laboratory, those doors housed five mites each, and there were a total of a hundred and fourteen doors. Unfortunately, the computer failed to grasp the concept of size and speed when it came to intruders, Odine had to set a default amount of mites to be released if the computer was to make the decision itself. Since the doctor only wanted the mites out, and didn't specify how many to use, the computer, naturally, only released thirty of them. The computer automatically locked onto any intruder so the mites would find them. But, it would take awhile for them to catch that intruder. For said intruder, had gotten in through the solid ceiling, and the mites weren't located in the right places for a fast response.

The doctor continued to work.

_"Se mites haff been deactivated."_ The computer finally relayed.

"Vat?! Ver is zis intruder?!"

A flying disk, sporting glowing blue edges, flew out of the wall by the door. The spinning thing stopped in front of Odine, hovering horizontally before him. The disc projected a hologram picture of the advancing intruder. It had a horse's skull for a face, huge blades for hands, unhealthy teal skin, skeletal birds feet, long, slimy green hair, and a tail, and it was clearly inside the roof!

The hologram dissipated, leaving Odine perplexed and frightened at the sight of it.

_"Se mites deactivated soon after contact."_ Explained the computer.

"Zen send zem all after zat…intruder!"

No sooner did the computer say 'Affirmative', then the intruder dropped onto the metal rampart, right next to Odine. Completely shocked and frightened, the doctor jumped backwards, nearly falling off completely. The monster wasn't as big as he had first thought, but it looked meaner, and much more ghostly in person, with a huge burn wound on the right side of its body. He witnessed the awesome cleaving power of the monster as it slashed away the metal, creating clean cuts with effortless ease. In a move to save his life, Odine jumped off the rampart, making a none-too soft landing. The monster made a much more graceful jump then him, landing on the floor a couple of meters away.

At first, it did not turn around, but stood well with its back to him. It swerved on a dime, but Odine had already figured out that the monster could not see him.

_It makes sense._ He surmised to himself. _A creature hoo could see vouldn't haff stalled if it 'saw' me jumping down here. It has no visible ears. Can it smell me?_

Normally, he would have loved to catch such a unique, bizarre creature, but that was only when they weren't chasing after him. As fast as he could, he ran, but stumbled only a little ways away from where Rinoa lay. The monster jumped onto the circular table, taking another second to discern where its prey was. While it was doing so, Odine noticed something else, under that equine skull was a face. That thing was wearing a mask! Not that taking off that mask would help anything.

Bracing himself for the inevitable pounce, he became even more curious at the creature's change of behaviour. It brushed its skeletal toes across Rinoa's back and head, evidently feeling the thick tubes that were stuck into her spine. Odine backed off while it was inspecting the Sorceress, but was blocked from behind as well. He looked back reluctantly, but didn't know whether to be relieved or distressed at seeing a Moomba standing there, just looking down at him.

The monster had finished inspecting its sorceress, and hissed a low warning, something that sounded like gas escaping a broken pipeline.

A thought hit him then. _Did ze Sorceress summon zis zing?_ "You-you vant your Sorceress?" He asked sheepishly in Estharian. The creature turned abruptly at the sound of his voice, hissing at him again. It raised a hand upwards, the blade aimed directly at the doctor. Odine flung his hands in front of him reflexively to protect himself, but the monster did not sever him but the tubes attached to Rinoa. Horrid smelling fluids of green, pink, orange and blue splattered everywhere: on Rinoa, the monster, Odine, and the Moomba.

Looking at his hard work coming undone, Odine reverted from a scared and timid individual back into the anal retentive scientist. "You stupid monster! You don't even know vat you did!"

The monster tensed for a second. "Stupid?!" It hissed. The remark awakened more then just bloodlust. Though he could not speak much Estharian, Squall could read the anger coming from Odine. Thus, Cloak was awakened once more.

_"Does he even know what he did?! I don't think he has the right to yell at us! Maybe he won't be so quick to condemn with no mouth!" _Squall tried to ignore her by focusing on Rinoa, but Cloak was persistent. _"I said to kill him you meat wad!"_ To appease her, Squall aimed to attack the doctor, but was stopped by Cardinal. As she wrestled with him, Odine took his queue to escape.

As he was running, he called to the computer. "Computer! Release ze remaining mites!"

_"Varning! Intruder detected at se front entrance."_ The computer stated instead.

_Anozer von?!_ "Zen send two-hundred and seventy to ze holding ving, and ze ozer two-hundred and seventy to ze front!"

_"Affirmative!"_ The mites were released as ordered. There were better defences for the lab, but they were not automatic, and could only be operated in the main observation room. It was his hope that the mites could hold off **both** intruders until that time, and that the Sorceress would not awaken until he was ready.

Squall could hear well the booming, mechanical voice of the computer. Directing his amazing new telepathy, he found an image inside Odine's head, as well as his plan.

_"After the prick!"_ Shouted Cloak. _"He needs to know who's really in charge here!"_ Willing to do that just to get her to shut up, Squall continued to struggle against Cardinal. The size of the Shemoomba was unfortunate, and even her massive strength could not hold up long. Cardinal finally broke her hold when Squall flashed his tongue: a long, slimy, forked green tongue. Licking her shoulder with it, she was immediately hit with a ferocious, singing pain. She abandoned her hold to tend to it, freeing Squall to run after his new target.

He stopped as the room became flooded with the mechanical mites. Honed onto his heat signature, the machines started to climb up his feet. The first few of them were licked by Squall's tongue, and as the burn wound on Cardinal was evident, it was coated with acid of a very low PH. The mite that was licked would fall off, scuttle around on the ground like a dog on fire for a few seconds, then continue as if nothing happened.

The mites had started to scratch and burn his fetlocks. They came off easily, but he would have got more if he weren't so conscience of cutting his own foot off.

Cardinal was having as much problems with the mites as him. Though, she had seen them coming long before she felt them, which got her on her feet much faster. She ran up tubes, and up on the scaffold. The mites chased her to the end of the rampart, where she jumped off the edge and grabbed hold of a lever. Just as she had hoped, the mites kept skittering after her, falling off the grate. The lever she happened to grab depressed. An alarm of a different manner blared. It was the fire alarm.

As it was programmed, the computer turned on all the sprinkler heads. The mites were waterproof, but not fire proof. They heard the fire alarm and immediately assumed there was a fire, they all skittered off to get out of the lab, insuring their own existence.

Dr. Odine had already made it to the main observation room by the time the alarm was set off. He was aggravated greatly at the further threat of a fire, but a quick scan told him there was none. That meant the alarm was manually pulled. Even furthermore, from the monitor of the holding wing, he could tell that the mites had scampered away. If only he had created more fire friendly security measures.

Without delay, he got every room and hall in the building on the monitors. He found the second intruder nearing the common area, where he kept any guest he cared about.

The second intruder was some sort of robot. Looking a lot like some sort of femme-bot model, it had no legs, but hovered on some sort of sonic or magnetic propulsion. It had long, white plates around its waist, making it look like it was wearing a skirt. There was extra thick, teal plating around the chest and shoulders of the robot. The hands of the construct held only three digits, sharpened at the ends. It reminded him a lot of the various robots the radicals used.

_Oh, dear._ Shuddered Odine. _A sorceress's servant and a radical assassin._ "Vell assassin. Taste ze fury of my lazars!" He did not keep any lazars automated, too many bad things happened when they were automatic. He pressed the button: a big green touch button, but was only disappointed when the words 'LAZAR DEFENSE SYSTEM DISABLED' was flashed across all monitors.

"Vat?!" Odine kept pressing and pounding the button until he remembered that lazars could refract and cause more damage in heat, so they were automatically disabled for twenty minutes after the fire alarm was triggered.

"Alright assassin, taste ze fury of my sonic rays!" He pressed a blue touch button, but got the same message with the lazars. The lazars and the sonic rays ran on the same system, so they were both disabled at the same time.

"Fine! Zen taste ze fury of my sermal trip beams!" The thermal trip beams he always triggered at night. They were invisible, and could cause a serious burn to anybody who would go right through them. They were also only about a foot off the ground, completely ineffective to the assassin robot, but not to the sabre beast. He pressed a circular red touch button. The massage that they were disabled came up again. Odine should have known, the thermal trip beams had the nasty habit of _blending_ with fire, so they were shut off for half an hour after the fire alarm was pulled.

"Dammit! Vy didn't I vork on zose fire hazards?!" He had one last option. Release cyanide on the whole premises. The gas ducts were never disabled in a fire. The only problem was, it may or may not work against the intruders, but it would indefinitely work against the Moomba and the Sorceress. It did not matter if the Moomba was killed, but he needed the Sorceress, or Minister Gatchman would decapitate him. He had to decide fast, the main observation room was not far from the common room, and the robot assassin was heading his way fast.

Unaware was he that his plans were already known. As if he were broadcasting his thoughts on every station, Squall knew what he was doing. He knew of the second intruder, and of how he was going to use cyanide gas against them.

Once he read that thought, his own thoughts snapped from Cloak's demand, back to Rinoa once more. He had no idea how the gas would effect him, but he knew it would defiantly kill the two woman. The thought scared him more then many things he had encountered, but even more so, was he scared of how he was going to move her. Cardinal was fine, but Rinoa was still unconscious, her station just a jargon of pink noise.

It was hard without hands, but Squall managed to get his arms under her, only to withdraw once he remembered the severed tube's ends were still sticking out of her; they could cause as much problems as the cyanide. Putting his foot to one of them, he tried to pull, but the indoor rain was making everything slick. SeeD training had included first aid and how to dislodge small to large foreign bodies, but it didn't really account for what to do if you lost your eyesight.

Very well, did he know that Odine could see him. The doctor looked at his futile attempts with a reassured amusement. He didn't put much emphasis into the monster's ability of 'proper' procedures. Then again, he could _kill_ her if he just pried them out! And if it killed the Sorceress, Gatchman would kill him!

The anal retentive scientist reared his head again, and Odine felt his primary motive to protect his latest project. Grabbing an emergency sonic gun, also known as a beam header, from under one of the consoles, he ran out the main door, oblivious to the reason he stayed there in the first place. Outside, just in front of the door, was the assassin robot.

Sprinkler heads above kept pouring, washing away the blood from Squall's attempts to rip the tube heads from the ports. Cardinal noted what he was doing, and made well to tell him that he was making her bleed.

_"Stop that! She's bleeding!"_

Squall did stop, but he very much felt like hissing at the Shemoomba. He needed those things out. He _knew_ he needed those things out.

_"They're not going to come out if you hack at them like a bear in a trap!"_ She scolded. In response to her lecture, Squall swung his blade at her. Cardinal ducked easily, but it was enough for her to guess his intentions. The wellness of the Sorceress came first for him, and it was frustrating.

Squall lowered his head, the bone snout meeting up right in Cardinal's nose. "Then **you** get them out!" His tone, no matter how hoarse, was murderous.

"_Don't bother!_" Came a voice from behind, a voice ambiguous and mechanical, both of them turned to see what, or whom, it was. Standing in the doorway was that assassin robot, and in its three-pronged grip, was Dr. Odine, held by the neck. "_He can unhook her!_" It stated, holding him up like a trophy catch.

_Vy, oh vy didn't I just leave ze lab?_ Wondered Odine.

Landing on the wet floor, Squall ran right up to him and hissed in his face. "You get them out!" Odine nearly felt like he would get high on the monster's breath. His words were in Alcauldian, but the doctor had a good idea of what he wanted from his tone, and attempt at pointing at the unconscious sorceress. The assassin robot let him go, dropping him on the floor unceremoniously.

"_Do as he says!_" The robot demanded.

_A 'he'?! Zat monster is a 'he'?!_

§

Phyllis Gatchman ran into the palace, huffing and puffing as if she had run the whole way there. She headed straight for the hospital wing, but found that Squall was not there. Her next search brought her to the House, left in muttering shambles after what had transpired therein.

"Vat se hell happened here?!" She asked hysterically, aimed at no one in particular.

"De Sabre Beast," Kiros spoke up, standing up from a bench, where he was just talking to two other people, "He voke up. Just ran around here and jumped out de vindow." He pointed up at the shattered panes. "Dr. Klimova said he just ran out of his room. She vas scared for her life, but de Sabre Beast didn't really kill, or vound, anybody dis time."

Just her dumb luck, the boy just couldn't stay still, even when he was dying. "Vich vay did he go?"

"Haffn't a clue. Vy vould you ask?" Kiros asked, but was not answered. Gatchman ran to the balcony stairs, and from them, managed to jump onto the wide sill. There was a good deal of palace roof Squall could have run on, but not that much. There was no sign that he had gotten anywhere else in the palace from there, that only left one other option, he jumped. To 'where' was the bigger question? Looking down wasn't good enough, it was too far down to see anything, even a greasy smear on the glass. The nearest building was a suicidal jump away. If he had jumped, then he was a truly amazing creation. If not, could he fly? The lack of wings didn't suggest so…but then again…

At first she heard of Squall, that 'Sabre Beast', and the Sorceress, she put them together immediately, there was no other explanation for such a creature. That was why she had wanted to separate the two of them, permanently.

So, that was that. The Sorceress had, most likely, enchanted him, and he was going back to her; right back to Dr. Odine's lab.

_Dammit. I vas just seir!_

§

Odine was not very comfortable with his hostage situation. The assassin robot was constantly at his back, the sabre monster, at his front, just on the other side of the Sorceress, and the Moomba at his heals, holding onto that big black book with the weird spine. To top everything off, the sprinklers were still going off.

Dislodging those ports was an easy job if one knew how to do it. All it took was squeezing the two sensory probes together, unfortunately, that meant he had to get his hands bloody, since those prods were right next to Rinoa's spinal cord.

Also wanting a good idea for getting out of the predicament, Odine spoke simply, "I need ze correct instruments to do ze job right. At lease let me go get zem." He didn't fool either of them, as he attempted to move away, making it look like he was going to get his 'instruments', the assassin robot got in front of him, and the Sabre Beast had both its blades dangerously close to him. Both of the intruders had read his mind. Without realizing it, Squall had sent his own message. When Odine looked up steadily at the metal mask of the robot, the grater-like face appeared to split into a jaw of jagged and rusted teeth. Opening wide, the assassin roared at him; a deep, metallic, grinding roar that made him jump and squeal. He reflexively turned to run away, but was stopped by the Sabre Beast, whom looked to a have grown a whole ten meters in one moment. It raised its left blade in front of his face, but the doctor had no reflection of his own, it was the face of the Sorceress. Ragged and glaring, her eyes swivelled in bloodshot eyelids. Her mouth moved, but there was no sound until the blade started to crack. It shattered into blackness, and Odine was met with the rapid flash of sharp fangs about to dig into his face.

He rolled around the floor and screamed in between the two intruders as they looked down on him. Squall wondered if he had given him one of his telepathic messages. The robot picked the little man up by his shoulders, but Odine was too submerged in that vision to notice what was _really_ happening. It threw him aside carelessly, opting to help itself. It approached Rinoa. Worried was Cardinal at first, but the steady disposition Squall choose calmed her down, considering that he probably trusted, or knew who the robot was, even though she wasn't sure he could read the mind of a mechanical construct.

The robot stuck two of its prongs into the flush red perimeter of the ports, an uneasy sight for Cardinal, but the robot seemed to know what it was doing. Squeezing the tiny probes together, it lifted the dislodge port up, and threw it aside. The port, and its hand were covered with bloody gore. It repeated the process three more times, successfully removing all the ports.

_I wonder why you bothered to bring Odine here when you were capable of doing this yourself._ Wondered Squall as he stepped forward. The humming from the robots propulsion was loud enough for him to pinpoint where it was, even in the drizzle of water. He flicked his head towards it, the snout of his helmet pointed directly at the machine. He had never been good with 'thank you's, but he supposed he owed one.

He gargled and stuttered on the appropriate word, but managed only slightly to speak. "_Tàvurskitta._" [Thank you. What floodgate had closed to prevent a 'thank you' from escaping him? Probably the one he closed years ago and never bothered to up keep. Funny, how just opening that gate seemed to hurt. Must have been a lot of water behind it.

How did the robot take it? It wasn't as if it was capable of facial expressions with that metal mask. Cardinal was left to wonder what had just transpired between the two. Not being able to understand the Alcauldian phrase of gratitude, she had to wonder what Squall just said.

The robot had gone rigid in front of him, and she was worried it was offended. Though, there was a click coming from the direction if its torso, and the cold, metallic amour seamed to peal right off of it, retracting into its back to reveal a young lady behind it.

_I know this woman! _Cardinal thought excitedly. _She was with the Sorceress. What as her name again? It started with an 'E'…_

"Ellone!" Squall shouted hoarsely. "You did NOT…hav to cumm!" His sentence was rough and slurred a bit, as if speaking that many words at once was a bit of an effort.

Ellone looked quite appalled at his words. "Well, excuse me! Thanks for the gratitude! I came her out of concern for Rinoa, but now you're here and I'm freakn' worried! You should be in bed…!"

"I came for Rinoa ass well!" He hung his head, gurgling on some chosen words of his. "She…was crying."

_Crying?_ Ellone absently looked at the girl, still unconscious. _Crying? Maybe she cried before she was put under_.

Ignoring her, Squall stepped up to Rinoa, placing his blades over her back. "_Orfrsvid._" He hissed, a spray of bright blue magic culminating over her back, healing the bloody patches on her skin. The curative spell woke her up, but all she could do for the moment was moan and shift slightly.

Ellone was still thinking about what Squall had said, about the Sorceress crying. He couldn't have been there. "Your telepathic, aren't you?" She asked outright. But, he did not acknowledge she even spoke. "Squall? Well, are you telepathic or not?" It was an educated guess she had, but he had to have been telepathic. It made sense, how he was able to get there without the aid of sight or smell, how he knew her when she was fused to EMP8000X, how he could pinpoint the direction Rinoa was in, and what she had said about receiving a telepathic message from him. Even though, he still did not respond to her.

"Squall?"

_"What the hell does she want?"_ Hissed Cloak. _"Doesn't she see that you are busy? Shut that bitch up!"_ He had heard her, but for once, he wanted to ignore her flat out and see what happened.

_"Ooh, still stubborn are we? Fine! I can be stubborn too! In fact, I can also be quite talkative. Can't really stand the silence her, so I think I'll yap my damn gums of until you're fuckn' brain rots. Get your ass in gear Appalling Pace! I ain't standing around waiting for you to fuckn' blow butterfly kisses…!"_ Ignoring her was much harder then ignoring a gun pulled to his head! Absently, he would slam the snout of his helmet against the round table, starting quite the rhythm of _'chink, chink, chink'_. The behaviour was quite alarming to both Ellone and Cardinal. Did Ellone say something wrong; did she upset the Blight again?

Once more, Squall tried to sink into his own mind, homing in on Cloak again. There she stood, her glowing brow and eyes highlighted on the background of true darkness, the snow falling fast, but not as furious as a blizzard. She seamed to become angry.

_"What the fuck did I tell you?! Get away from me you bastard!" _Just as before, Cloak was tackled from behind. Squall could only see Strychnine biting into her flailing larynx before the vision blurred and vanished.

Ellone stood by as he started to flail. Attempting to avoid the thrashing of his tail, she kept a close vigil to make sure her little 'brother' didn't unintentionally hurt himself. She saw him seemingly calm down. His arms, he lay at his sides. His tail dropped limply on the wet floor. Cardinal was at his side first, just as his blades began to disintegrate to reveal their human shape, his green skin to vanish, replaced by a sickly bruised pallor, and his tail shrivelled. Ellone caught him by the waist, just as he started to collapse, his helmet the last to fall off and shatter.

The sprinklers still rained down water. How long would they do so? Ellone simply stood there, wondering what to do next. Limply, Squall pushed at her arms, but gave up after only a mere second.

Shivering from the water, he wheezed and coughed. "Gatchman is a Professor, you know." He spoke in Alcauldian, a language both of them knew. But that information that Gatchman was one of the alien Professors was news to her. That simply _must_ have meant that he was telepathic.

"She's on her way here." He told her again calmly, his voice a hoarse crackle. "You…" His crackly voice caught in a coughing fit. "…You shouldn't h_gg_ave come."

_**I**__ shouldn't have come?! _ Was Ellone's thought. _Never mind me! What about you?!_

§

Phyllis Gatchman raced down the translucent streets in a vehicle she swiped from the palace garage. Her driving skills turned many heads, and even more tails as people dove out of her way quickly.

"Move it!" She shouted. "Se roads are for drivers, not pedestrians!" Tucked away in a pocket under her poncho was the ring, and it started to glow.


	12. A Giant Hamster Cage

12

A Giant Hamster Cage

Rinoa awoke believing she had just weathered the biggest New Years party ever held, until she realized that she hadnt drunk a drop of alcohol her whole life. Ellone was kneeling right in front of her, giving her a very concerned look, and with her duster and black top wrapped around her like a safety blanket, she had to wonder what really did happen, especially when her spine felt like curdled cheese.

Thank Hyne youre awake now. Started Ellone in Alcauldian. What possessed you to go to Odine in the first place?

_Odine?_ That was right. She had gone straight to Odine in hopes he would aid her in retrieving her friends. I needed his assistance. Rinoa answered her. I cant go to the Prime Minster in his condition, and I was hoping Dr. Odine would have access to the Ragnarokk. There. She said it.

Well, I hate to tell you, but your crusade was all in vain. Rinoa, why didnt you just tell me? I dont have access to the Ragnarokk, but I know several who do.

_Why didnt I tell her?_ Why was it she never fully thought out her decisions? On a better thought, Rinoa felt something warm and fuzzy nuzzle her arm. She looked over to see Cardinal had snuck up beside her. Looking down at the Shemoomba curiously, she saw that the little orange critter was holding something in her arm. That strange black book!

The sight of it brought back her dishevelled memories. Dear God! Wheres Griever?!

Say who?

Its Squalls ring. I keep it on a chain around my neck. Rinoa finally looked down at her chest to realize she was wearing her shirt and duster like a blanket. Why the hell am I naked from the waist up? Ellone started to tell her about the ports shoved in her back, but a hand was waved in front of her face. Never mind. I really dont want to know. Just tell me where my necklace is.

Oh, that necklace. Ellone took out a silver necklace from her pocket, but only one ring was it.

Even though she was disappointed, she looked more concerned. Thats not Griever.

What? Its a ring

No. That was my mothers ring. Ive had it for years. Squalls ring has a lions cameo carved into it"

Well then, youre out of luck, because this was the only ring on here when I found it

Only onehellwas it clasped when you found it?

No.

Quickly, but still clutching her blankets, Rinoa stood up. Bloody helland why is everything so wet?!

Sprinklers went off. Answered Ellone calmly, stopped only a few moments ago."

Sounds lovely. Rinoa quipped, not really paying attention. Could you not look while Im getting my shirt on!

Oh, sorry. Ellone did turn around, but Cardinal didnt, Rinoa had spoken in Alcauldian. She also had no discrimination when it came to human nudity. Her shirt was a bit wet, but not a lot fortunately, just around the hems.

You know, started Ellone, we really should get going.

What?! Was the only response Rinoa could think of. I still have to find Squalls ring. It could have fallen of when Dr. Odineremoved it from my person.

We cant stay here! Im surprise you can even walk!

Yes, yes! I know! I shouldnt have come here, but now I cant leave without Griever!

We can come back Rinoa! We just have to leave. Now!

And what the hell would make you say that?!

Oh, come on! Did the fact that Odine hooked you up to his equipment not clue you in?!

I dont see why you should be so worried?! If Odine is only after me!

Its not just Odine Im worried about! Blurted Ellone. Theres someone headed our way that I dont want to meet right now.

Rinoa stowed her own argument as she listened to Ellone, holding just a bit of vinegar. And how would you know?

Squall told me so.

Squall? She looked quite disbelieving, but Ellone confirmed that statement with a nod of her head. Was it he who told you were to find me? It wasnt Ellone who answered her but Cardinal, whom pulled at the hem of her shorts for attention. Rinoa looked down to see her point away from them, towards a large patch of green metal in the wall. The patch was placed low, and was about as high as her waist. The patch was obviously some sort of door as it had a handle on one side to open. She looked inside the darkened cubby, absolutely astonished with what was in there.

Dear God. She gasped, hauling her find out with both hands. In her arms was Squall, asleep and draped in a large black cloth. He looked just as bad as when she left him in the palace infirmary, his death sentence fresh on her mind. You brought him here? Rinoa scolded, craning her head around to stare at Ellone mirthlessly.

No! She defended. No, he came here on his own. Rinoa looked away from her back at the one in her arms. He had done it again. He became the Sabre Beast and ran over hereRinoahe told me he came because you were crying.

Crying? I never cried! I damn well know that!

No, no, you may not have cried outwardly. She used hand motions to illustrate. But you were probably crying inwardly.

Again, she looked quit disbelieving, but that time it was more of fear and concern, then anger. How would Squall know that?

Rinoa. You know what I said about Echo Hosts. Squall is an Echo Host! And I am absolutely positive hes telepathic.

Telepathic? Then where the hell was his telepathy when we needed it about a month ago?

Who knows. An Echo Hosts power only increases with experience. But what I know of Squall then and now, the leap his powers took is impossible. It was probably that stint in Time Compression that gave him the boost. Its only just starting to kick in.

And where does this hypothesis come from? Rinoa asked sceptically.

Ellone answered with a sly sneer. Oh, believe me, Ive done my homework. Adel wouldnt have had it any other way. Rinoa looked back down on Squall, noticing that he was not wrapped in a black cloth; he was wearing it.

Bloody hell? You took the time to dress Squall, but not me?! Scolded Rinoa once more.

Well What an awkward question to ask, not alone answer. hes much more vulnerable to temperature nowand lighter, and youre much more capable of dressing yourself.

_I still dont care for that answer._

Rinoa was surprised, and nearly frightened at the sudden tap under her jaw, Cardinal was parallel to her, so she couldnt have tapped her. She noticed how Squalls right hand was thrown across his chest, moving it meagrely about as if trying to reach something. It was him who had hit her! Though, it was a feeble tap that barely made her teeth click together. Cardinal chattered and squeaked in a sort of applause. Squall tried to stop her by vainly pushing at her with his hand; he only succeeded in pushing her muzzle away.

Squall. Youre awake! Smiled Rinoa, relieved she wasnt holding a corpse. You dont look so good, though.

Hey Rinoa. He croaked, his eyes remaining closed. I didnt find your dog.

Thats okay. Well still find her.

His eyes began to open slightly. Whats all this we stuff. Grabbing onto her shoulder, he began to haul himself up. You already know where Angelo is. He grunted as he got up. So technically, shes not lost. With another painful looking hoist, he managed to sit up some more. Ellone rushed over to keep him from falling.

_And you know that!_ The description of telepathic was beginning to make more sense.

Let me help you Squall. Ellone pleaded.

No! He squeaked back, his pride refusing him to accept any help. Ellone reluctantly backed off as he waved his hand in front of him wildly. I can walk. As if fate were mocking him, as soon as he was close to standing up, his legs gave out on him. He collapsed against the wall. Standing is a bit of a problem though. For that split second he stood up, Rinoa saw that he wasnt wearing a robe, but a baggy black shirt and pants.

Before she knew it, she had gotten down, draping Squalls right arm over her shoulder, Ellone taking his other side. Cardinal plodded up in front.

I never asked for your help. Grumbled Squall.

Zip it Squall! Scolded Rinoa. You just collapsed against a wall! You so cannot stand, not alone walk!

How logical. Not even he could deny that fact. That still didnt mean he was thrilled with using human crutches.

We should get out of here. Ellone started. Were close to Guidos Garage. We can borrow one of his hovers and head to the desert

No! I still have to find Griever! Interrupted Rinoa.

Squall shifted a bit between the girls shoulders. Its not here. That hag has it, eh yah.

_Hag?_ Quite perplexed, she was, with his words. What hag?

Phyllis Gatchman came to a screeching halt in front of Odines Lab, nearly hitting the railing in the process. She got out of the vehicle, huffing and panting as she had exerted much energy getting there.

_I better no haff to head back to se palace ven I get inside!_

The front door was wide open and smouldering, a sign that it had probably short-circuited. All Gatchman had to do was step over, not the usual way she came in at all. Inside was in a relatively unharmed state, Gatchman had to wonder what Odine was doing if he didnt notice his own front door was on the fritz. Then the answer hit her. He was doing something besides watching the front door. Probably still preparing the Sorceress.

ODINE! She shouted, hoping he would hear her. ODINE! Casually, she continued to walk further into the lab, everything looking well in place; no sign of an intruder present. She surmised that he was probably still in the holding wing. The rest of the way there was quiet, though stable. Gatchman continued to call Odine with no answer. Not until she had stepped into the holding wing did she notice something amiss. Her first clue was when she nearly slipped. Where had all the water come from?

ODINE! She yelled once more Vat se hell are you doing in here?!

He finally appeared, shaking and muttering, his gait shaky and mechanical. He did not recognize Phyllis until she had grabbed him by his shirt collar and slapped him.

Vat se hell happened?! How is se Sorceress coming?!

Sorceress? Squeaked Odine; still trying to come to terms with reality. Oh! Ze Sorceress! It vas horrible! He threw himself at Gatchman like a weeping child. I couldnt finish ze preparation. She summoned zis horrible green monster, vit a horses skull for a mask, and huge blades for hands! And a moomba vas vit it! Zen, I released ze mites, and I ran. Ze fire alarm vent off before I got to ze Observation ving! I vanted to use lazars, but couldnt! I vanted to use sonic rays, but I couldnt. Zen, I vanted to use trip beams, but I couldnt. Zen, I vanted to use gas!

I didnt ask for a story! Gatchman interrupted, slapping him again. Vat happened to ze Sorceress?!

Still held by his collar, his lower lip began to quiver as he burst into tears. Im sorry! Ze monster played some sort of mind trick and I fell for it! Forgive me!

Sats not se answer I vanted! Vere is se Sorceress?!

Not in my custody! Wailed Odine. She vas probably taken back by sat monster! He dug his face into the Minsters robe, crying uncontrollably while the Minster frowned at the disgusting display.

You talk of a monster. Started Gatchman, still appalled with the doctors crying. Did you notice a large burn on it?!

Odine stopped his crying for a second, looking up at her sheepishly. Yes, on its side. When he put his head back down, he continued to bawl.

_I sout so!_ She grabbed the doctor by the shoulders, forcing him to look up at her. Look Odine, sat monster couldnt haff gotten far, and se Sorceress is probably wit it! You vant my forgiveness? Help me find sem! Odine looked up at her of his own will, wiping his eyes as he agreed to do so. He really needed her forgiveness.

At first, it was suggested it would be best to split up, but Odine was in no mood to do so after his last encounter. Gatchman had to consent, the more time they argued; the more time the intruders had to escape. She led the way, with an uneasy passenger clinging to her robe.

Grow a back bone, vy dont yoo. She snapped. Really, vats so horrible about sis monster? It was easy enough for her to say; she hadnt ever faced the monster herself.

It could cut zrough metal, Odine stammered, like butter! It could leap several meters in ze air and still land on its feet. And it could play vit your mind!

Sounds like _yoo_ have been playing vit too many fumes.

They came, once more, to the room were Odine originally held Rinoa. The water hadnt been drained away. The chemicals from the tube: pink, green, orange and blue, polluted the two cm deep water, the whole room smelled putrid because of it. The tubes hung limply from the crane above, sprawled about in the polluted water. All four of the bloody ports were thrown onto the ground carelessly. Even the red blood was tinting the water. There were the sliced remains of some of the mites, as well as the ports, and Gatchman was awe struck as she examined one; cut completely and cleanly in two, even a plasma cutter wasnt that neat. Above them was the hole that Squall had cut out; wires and scrap metal were hanging down, admitting the stream of bright sunlight inside. The hit the water, the sparkling making it look much more attractive with the added colours. Gatchman could also see the pieces of railing that he had slashed as well.

Sey cant be far from here. She reasoned. Spread out. Odine was reluctant to do so.

The minister was not amused. Ill be right here yoo idiot! Now get searching! With one last angry glare, he slowly let go of Gatchman, heading off to search the lower consoles. With her back turned, Phyllis remained unaware that she was being watched. From over the hole in the ceiling, hiding sparsely with wilting wires, Ellone cautiously kept her eye on them. As soon as Squall had told them Phyllis Gatchman had entered the building, they had clamoured up the ceiling. Cardinal had left the book in plain sight, right on top of one of the consoles. Odine found it fast enough, but could not open it.

They had all hidden up in the roof, not as if they could go far in the time they were allotted. Cardinal was on one side of her, Rinoa on the other. Squall was behind them, lying on his stomach. Below, the two were searching quite methodically.

Finally, after many a tense moment went by, they finally heard the long awaited phrase. Looks like sy move on. Gatchman spoke, keeping an air of authority. Odine ran out of there with an eager smile, he had never been the courageous kind.

Ellone looked at Cardinal gratefully, then at Rinoa. Theyre going now She quickly regretted speaking, even if it was in her softest voice. Rinoa wondered why that was, until she saw how Gatchman snapped her attention in their direction. She had heard Ellone! Hoping to elude her some more, they ducked further behind the edge, but the elder woman was still closing on them, sure that she had heard something from above.

Rinoa was afraid to ask. But, how did that woman hear them? Perhaps if she could use some of that telepathy she was told she had

Lying on his stomach was not a good option for Squall. His ribs felt like they would snap under the weight of his own back. They gave a feeling of squeezing his insides, which was probably what they were doing, constricting his lungs and making it hard, and painful, to breath. Attempting to turn onto his side, he put his arm down and pushed, but the pressure he exerted felt like a knife was lodged between his collar and shoulder bone. Fortunately for the whole group, he nearly choked on his own screams. Even so, as he was in too much pain to care, Squall simply fell onto his side; the most silent of thuds emanating from his collapse, but Gatchman heard it regardless.

The woman motioned for Odine to stay put. The girls nearly jumped when they saw how fast she ascended one of the ladders, all the time continuing to look up for any signs of their movement.

It was too Squalls great misfortune that he happened to have landed on his nuked side. It was no more comfortable then on his stomach. The burn started to itch something fierce under that resin, and he thought he felt his organs starting to droop: they didnt seem to like that at all. The rubbery feeling in his throat had returned, and he started to drool and gag. Gatchman defiantly heard that. Concerned that he would unintentionally give them away, the girls tried their best to keep him quiet.

Their best was not enough. Squall could not hear them; nor feel them; the pain was all he was concerned with.

_Horshclim graun_! Found you! Gatchman smiled as she poked her head over the slashed metal. All girls were startled, but none made a move save Cardinal, who slapped her away with the back of her paw. Gatchman fell onto the rampart bellow, but recovered surprisingly fast. She made a tremendous leap upwards, grabbing an unaware Cardinal by the wrist.

She landed smoothly on the metal grate, but the Shemoomba was much too hard of a catch to keep. Cardinal swung forward, successfully hitting Gatchman in the chin, she flew back with the force of the hit, and Cardinal was unintentionally let go. Odine saw what happened, and fled.

Shes down! Ellone relayed. We should get out of here now!

Just as Gatchman was recovering from her hit, Cardinal tackled her, firmly digging her fangs into her shoulder. The Moomba gagged immediately, detaching her fangs to spit out the putrid fluid that coated her lips. Her freed blood was horrible to her tongue. Looking down at the wound, she did not see red plasma, but a foaming, teal coloured ooze.

_This person is not human!_

Gatchman swatted the Shemoomba away with one arm, and would have continued to attack if it were not for getting hit from above. All she heard was: _Squall! Aen_! Squall! No!, and she was hit from above. Something very large, and rather cold and salty tasting invaded her mouth. It was a hand! The hand was shoved down her throat, restricting her breathing. The fingers were stretched, blocking more and more space. She was too distracted to see the face of her attacker, but not distracted enough to grab the arm with both of her hands, pulling out the intrusion with no difficulty.

Flipped over, her attacker became pinned beneath her. Your just se person I vant to meet. She scoffed. Squall, her attacker, lay underneath, wanting to say something back, but the immense pressure on his stomach forbade him to do so. All he could do was mouth a few hapless words as he slowly choked on his own phlegm.

Gatchman rose to her feet, her two hands firmly around Squalls middle.

Sorceress! She yelled up at the ceiling. Is sis your monster?!

Skittishly, Rinoa poked her head over the ceiling hole. She whispered to Ellone. I told him not to jump.

Was it really necessary to surrender? Inquired Ellone, speaking Alcauldian.

Rinoa snapped back at her. Well, Im sorry if Im not one for intense negotiations!

Just how was surrendering not intense?!

My definition of intense usually involves a lot more struggle, a lot more agony, and a lot more blood.

Well that was hardly a negotiation at all. Tell her Squall.

Oh, I think she did a pretty good job. He remarked, trying his best not to move his head. Knew what had to be done, confronted the negotiation, stuck her grounds, no casualties. Thats worth a nice round eighty percent.

Only eighty? Rinoa inquired.

You would have got a ninety if you hadnt surrendered.

Thank you Squall, I feel so much better. Now here we are, in a giant hamster cage!

Could have been worse. Commented Ellone. We could be in a giant aquarium. At that moment, she was leaning against the glass wall, looking out at the various other large animal cages. Rinoa sat with her back to the adjacent wall as her. Squall was laying in the wood shavings in the corner next to her, and Cardinal had decided to try out the wheel.

The room was pretty dim, the only light coming from next room, where Gatchman was giving Odine the third degree. It was their shadows that Ellone was watching, plastered up on the sickly yellow walls between a birdcage and a large dog carrier. None of them could do anything about their situation, all of them, excluding Cardinal, were given Odine items: Ellone a choker, dark brown with imitation tortoiseshell beads and a diopside brooch, Rinoa a silver ring with a citron eye, and Squall a pair of earrings that looked like snake fangs tied to a pearl each. Ellone had warned them not to take them off, or they would explode, it was a countermeasure Odine had added for uncooperative bearers, and would only come off with the right key pick.

The items had an awkward effect. For Rinoa, when she tried to cast a simple bout of sorcery, it seamed as if it turned right back at her insides. For Squall, it wasnt what he felt, but what he didnt hear. Strychnine wasnt talking at all, he couldnt get a single station, but he still heard Cloak.

_In retrospect, it was a poor decision to jump that witch._

It was your idea. He growled, low enough so that only Cardinal heard clearly. She stopped running on her wheel, hopping off to stand closer to him curiously.

_And it was you who consented! Im not the only one at fault here!_

He would continue to argue with the voice, getting nowhere in turn. Cardinal had no idea what she should have done.

The shadows on the wall shifted, and Gatchman could clearly be heard yelling something in Estharian.

What did she say? Rinoa asked Ellone eagerly.

She told Odine to listen up.

The woman spoke more softly next, but still sternly.

She says she found this book.

_A book?_

Ellone heard Gatchman say more. She wants Odine to translate it for him.

_Does she mean, THE book?_

Odine says he doesnt know the language on it either.

Down on the wood shavings, the argument between Cloak and Squall was still continuing, and Cardinal still had no idea what to do: intervene? Understand whats happening? Get the other two?

_Now isnt the time to point fingers!_ Cloak hissed. _Were in this mess, now get us out of it!_

Squall was insulted by the use of we. We?!

_Its not like I can go anywhere, idiot. Now what the fuck are **you** going to do?!_

Me? Trying to sit up, he felt extremely heavy, and extremely brittle. I cant junction to Strychnine. Its these earrings, I cant do anything.

_Since when? Now stuff your whining and get up! Get UP!_ He tried to comply, but when he found the energy to lift himself, he also found that his body would complain audibly: his bones were snapping, his muscles were pulling, his organs were squeezed and he was pretty sure his nerves were jumping. He could do nothing but fall onto his stomach, the soft wood shavings a little more comfortable then metal.

Cant do it. He squeaked. Im just going to lay here and die now.

_Stuff it Appalling Pace. Quitting is not an option. DYING is QUITTING, got that?! Now get up!_

He wouldnt try again, he refused to, all he could do was cry. I cant. His tears dampened the wood. Scared, angry and tired of Cloak, but still lacking the energy to carry out her order.

_Yes you can! If you cant use your body, use your head!_

Ellone continued to watch the shadows of their captors, with Rinoa right beside her.

Looks like Gatchmans holding something up. Began Ellone. Shes going to use it on the book. In the womans shadowed hand, both of them could see a flash of violet.

_Griever!_ Rinoa new. _That woman has Griever!_

Theyve opened the book

_Is Squalls ring some kind of key? Does he know about it?_

Behind her, Cardinal tugged at the hem of her duster. Rinoa looked behind her to see the Moomba pointing harshly at Squall. She looked in that direction to see him sitting up, his breathing quite rugged. Worried over the occurrence, she ran up to him.

Stay back! He shouted, even though it was at the floor, Rinoa pretty much knew it meant her. I can do this!

No you cant Squall! Lay back down!

No!

Yes!

I said NO! At the shout of no, a glowing green ball appeared, bouncing on the wood shavings in between her and himself.

_Squall? Are you serious? Are you going to attack me with that GF?_ Rinoa would not forget how that thing had moved like a blender from hell.

Even if he was serious, Strychnine, when fully formed, did not attack her. Strangely, it did not attack anything. Putting one of her scythes in her jaw, she took Squall in her free hand, using the scythe in her other hand to smash the glass.

Ellone and Cardinal, hearing the shattering, ran up to see Strychnine slither off with her host and father

Well, started Ellone a bit sheepishly, thats one way to escape. Its louder then what I was thinking, but itll do.

Gatchman and Dr. Odine, also hearing the din, stopped suddenly their conversation and ran out to the cages. Strychnine was already out, and punching more holes in the wall. The other three were just leaving the cage.

My success! Cried Minister Gatchman. The ring, and the strange black book, sill held in her hands.

My lab! Cried Odine.

Rinoa noticed the two, standing dumbstruck on the other side of the cage. She ran up to both of them, taking both the ring and the book right out of Gatchmans hands.

_Mikis_. Thanks. Obtaining what she wanted, she ran off with the rest.

Odine continued to rant. My lab! My beautiful lab!

Oh, buck up! Gatchman snapped, slapping him over his little, bald, head. You can fix sis! Hell, Ill fix sis! Just get after sose hooligans?

It turned out the only one to keep up to Strychnine was Cardinal, who eventually jumped onto the Guardian Forces tail. She was moving much to swiftly, and her tail was swaying much too savagely for the Moomba to crawl up her, so she stayed put until they came to a halt.

Rinoa and Ellone, however, fell short, and were left behind soon after they jumped out of the lab.

This is no good. Rinoa panted. That things faster then well ever be. If only I didnt have this damn ring on

Wed need a vehicle or something. Ellone suggested, catching her breath as well.

Well, what could he possibly be heading after anyway? A bagel shop?

No, not in that direction. He looks like hes heading to the desert.

Rinoa looked at her crossly. The desert? What the hells there?!

Theres Siphon Thrice Fit. But I dont know if Squall heard her before those earrings

Whoa! Whoa. I dont know who this Sypho Thrice Whosis is. Remember?

Oh, about that. You know her as the Crystal Pillar.


	13. The Rabbit and the Raven

13

The Rabbit and the Raven

The sun had hit its zenith point, shining brightly above the dried wastes of Esthar. Closer towards the grand capital, one could see a sort of star underneath, shining as brightly as the sun itself. Not a planet, not a moon; the star flew towards the city walls like a bird. And what a bird! A majestic phoenix it was, sparkling with golden fire on his feathers.

Sly had flown close to the mammoth walls of Esthar City, landing in front of it. There was no one around, not even an insect. There were many small windows open with snapped wires and slashed lazar guns sticking out, covered all in scorch marks from the fizzing electricity. That electricity had ceased to flow for a while, and was no longer sparking. Sly spied a diamond shaped hole cut into the wall, the edges not melted, but cut cleanly without any traces of soldering. The opening was just big enough for him to squeeze through.

There was a metal ledge for Sly to stand on, but it was quite narrow for him. It was very rank inside, even for his weak sense of smell. He saw several bodies lying around on the narrow metal bridge, they were already starting to attract flies and maggots, and Sly saw a few desert scavengers had made there way inside. Why werent the people of the city responding to what happened in there?

The phoenix looked away with disgust, leaving the bugs and scavengers alone. Since the inside of the wall was quite spacious, there was enough room for him to fly. He flew off the rampart and landed on another deck close by.

Deacon had hidden himself and Bishop inside a security station within the wall. There was no sign of any sort of occupation when they had arrived, and he wondered where everyone was. Bishop lay curled up under a desk. Deacon had used every sort of magic and paramagic he knew to counter that poison, but nothing seemed to work.

Residing to sitting, staring, and being worried sick, Deacon had nearly given up hope before something came knocking on the door. In the large window looking out over the sea of darkness and metal appeared the shining, orange beak of a bird, curved like an eagle's, and with several scratches on it.

The beak moved. I was looking for you. The voice said. It sounded calming, deep, and held a chuckle in its tone, and spoke Winter Shumi. With reluctance, Deacon held back for a moment, trying to recall where he had heard that familiar voice. Hoping his hunch was right; the Moomba pressed the release button on the door. The beak pocked itself inside.

Nice little place youve found her my boy. The beak quirked. Deacon knew the voice now: it was Sly the phoenix. Showing his appreciation for his appearance, Deacon jumped onto the beak affectionately.

Good to see you to. Chuckled Sly. But, you dont seam to be the one in trouble. Where are the others you came with?

Deacon got off the beak, his mood suddenly dashed. But, was Sly there to help? Would he know what was wrong with Bishop? With new hope, he scampered back to the desk where he left Bishop. It was quite difficult to move the sick Moomba out, but he managed. Outside the station, Sly looked down at both of them, clearly seeing whom it was he sensed was in danger.

Gently, the phoenix nudged Bishop, but barely got a response, though, he was alive.

Sly said nothing, he was sure Deacon would waste more time trying to tell him every detail. Even so, he already had a good idea what was wrong. For starters, the large Moomba was sick, but from what? A pathogen? Poison?

Has he been poisoned? To him, Deacon answered yes by shaking his head.

Sly ruffled his feathers in response, but wasnt at all worried. His wing, he draped over Bishop. The brightly coloured pinions started to glow softly, the green of his feathers growing slightly as it did so. Then, the phoenix removed his wing, uncovering Bishop who was luminated by the same pale embers as Slys pinions. They stayed for only a second before they seamed to recede into his heart. He sat up, but not for very long, the poison was gone, but not the headache it brought.

Smiling, Sly looked down at Deacon. Poisons all gone. The wing he had used to cover Bishop was nearly green, but was starting to get its natural colour back, slowly.

_So this is the healing power of the Kmuzadie, the phoenix._ Deacon thought with awe. _What a stroke of luck to run into in the first place. Now, if only we could find Cardinal now_

After Strychnine had smashed through the lab, upset many bystanders, and crushed a few cars in her path, she manoeuvred Squall onto her shoulders in one graceful move she made look easy, then dove off of the high roads of the main city, and into the dingy depths of Estherian urban decay, using whatever she could to climb down. Both scythes she held in her mouth, leaving both of her hands free to scale down walls and, eventually, pipes. Down on the lower depths of Esthar City, there was no residence permitted, it was all industry, but the forgotten, the unwanted and homeless took shelter there. They, too, moved aside as Strychnine came barrelling down, still not noticing Cardinal, who was holding on for dear life.

The bases of the buildings eventually disappeared, replaced entirely by pipes. Strychnine took the scythes out of her mouth and held onto them. Like a snake, she wrapped around a large aqueduct. Squall held onto her just as fiercely as Cardinal when the Guardian Force shot her upper body off of the aqueduct, and into the mouth of a large sewer pipe. From there on, it was the help of the water, and Strychnines own slithering, that drove them forward like a bleached bone arrow.

Are you insane?! Ellone shouted at Rinoa, holding the book tightly to her chest. You want to do what?!

The two of them were running through the city to a military run air hanger, said to be near the easternmost gate of the city.

Insane times call for insane measures! Rinoa called back, hoping she was running in the right direction. It was Ellone that had told her about the military hanger in the first place.

So Ive come to realize! Ellone quipped back. So I guess that means I cant talk you out of stealing the Ragnarokk!

The directions given were no lie. Rinoa found the hanger installation: a grand, glass smooth dome of a building, completely windowless, with many wires, hubs, and junctions among it. The two girls nearly slammed into the side.

Well, were here. Started Ellone, looking up at the metal behemoth of a building. Now what?

We do this on the up and up. Was all Rinoa would relay.

In spite of herself, Ellone laughed uneasily. No, seriously, what now?

We play this by ear. Dont worry, hanging out with a bunch of mercenaries has taught me a lot of things.

Like how to break into a military installation?

No, actually. What it has told me is doing really stupid things are a great aggravation tool.

That wasnt a very comforting lesson that Ellone wanted to learn. These people are armed Rinoa! And you want to aggravate them?! Thats a stupid idea!

Well, you got a plan?

No. Lets play this by ear. Primarily, there was how to get inside. It wasnt even easy _with_ a plan!

Just, how do we get inside? Asked Ellone sceptically.

Through the front door, of course.

And where would you surmise the front gate is? This whole building looks like a single solid rock!

'Eh, dont yell at me! You were the one who told me about this place! Dont you have an idea?!

Ellone lost here scepticism, replaced with worry. She had no idea. But, then again, there had to be a door somewhere. With no ESP, or telekinesis, or any other psychic hoohaw on her side, the situation was proving to be much more stressing.

Ive got them! She announced to Rinoa, an idea in her head. This way! Well eventually find a door. Pointing towards their left, the girls ran, encountering no resistance.

Rinoa seamed the only one discomforted by the lack of confrontation. Odd, youd think that a military base would have more security. I was expecting guards, or some sort of automated security system.

It probably has to do with this alien scare Uncle Laguna talked about. The same security grid routs the whole city, so its probably shut down for some maintenance and upgrades. Ellone had no way of knowing how wrong she was. It was true that Esthar was blanketed in the same security grid, a system that made upgrades much easier and faster, and grew with uniformity, but had the greatest weakness of going down at the slightest botched wire. And, if one were to go through the entire grid, past the palace, past the city, past the outer skyways, to the very wall of the city, they would find that a bloody slaughtering had occurred in the western gate, and the main power supply for the security grid was cut in the chaos, leaving Esthar vulnerable. No one noticed because no one had gotten to the alarm in time before they were flayed in half.

Peaking over the opening in the wall was a little face; a little purple face with huge, glassy yellow eyes. Its teeth were like ice picks jutting out of its mouth, its ears were long and pointed, and on its head was a shock of red hair. On sinuous wings, the monster fluttered inside. It was a smaller creature, about four feet high, coloured purple, with long claws on its fingers and toes, as well as a thin, spade tipped tail. It was scraggly in build. It was an imp.

Five more, then seven more, and then thirteen more fallowed that first imp. More and more came, until the inside of the wall was packed with the devious little monsters. All were chewing on wires, busting light fixtures, gnawing on bodies and causing general havoc. One imp grabbed hold of a really thick wire, the artery between the main sources of power in the entire city. Without thinking, the imp bit it. All power to the city was cut. Panic ensued everywhere. Some started looting the shops. Many were trampled under the feet of the anxious crowds.

Ellone had to stop Rinoa from running too far. Watch out! She shouted, the book nearly being dropped as she was pulled aside. A very large door had opened without warning, releasing a hefty legion of soldiers, cyborgs, large combat vehicles and huge robots. If Ellone hadnt have grabbed Rinoa when she did, she would have been trampled. The army was responding to the massive blackout, and sent out to do some crowd control. Even though those men and woman were told it was just a system fluke, many were already blaming the extraterrestrials above.

Well, that was easier then I thought. Began Rinoa, only barely getting over the shock. The door did not close right behind the receding army, so the two girls let themselves in.

The two entered an amazingly large hanger. There were no people in there until they got inside the main perimeter. There were still people _there_, but by the looks of their smocks and robes, they were mainly scientists and mechanics. The only light on in the entire premises were from blaring red bulbs: emergency lights.

There were still some soldiers left inside, but like the rest of the people around, they seemed to be in a very big hurry. No one bothered to look for any intruders. Both Ellone and Rinoa found it very easy to duck behind corners and stay low. But, Ellone did warn about mechanical units. Fortunately, the only mechanical units they ran into were for surveillance, and Ellone picked them out fast.

A group of several mechanics rushed by, arguing something in Estharian. The girls squeezed behind a single pillar to hide. The mechanics ran by without noticing anything.

What were they yelling about? Rinoa whispered in Alcauldian.

Theres been a city wide blackout. Ellone answered, also whispering back. Theyre trying to find the source of the problem, but a lot are blaming the aliens.

_Aliens again?_ Aliens, you say.

Believe it or not. I wasnt kidding about Laguna locking down the city and prepping the army. Odine and a bunch of scientists found this UFO inside our magnetosphere.

Yeah, I believe you. The same scare is in Galbadia. But, until now, it seems you have been taking it better then them.

Gatchman had ran right back inside the lab.

I zought you vanted to go after zose hooligans?! Odine shouted.

I said after sose hooligans, implying sat you should go after sem!

Me? Vy me?

Because sat boys ring is a reconnaissance satellite! She snapped. Somevone got sose signals, and Im staying behind to find out hoo, or vat, got sem!

But, but, but how do I catch up to zat beast? I cant run?

Get a car, you louse!

Again, Odine was going to whine about how he couldnt drive. But, with Gatchmans back turned, he knew the conversation was over. He would have to give his assistant a call. That was when the power went out for them.

Vat now?! Odine heard Gatchman fume. What now indeed. He was as much puzzled as she. The soft green glow of the emergency lights came on, lighting enough of the hall for him to make his escape before Gatchman blamed him for anything else. It was too bad that the pictophones and holograms were effected by the blackout, the satellite phone, however, would not be, except for the fact that Odine had neglected his satellite bills several years ago. So what was he supposed to do about the transportation situation? He feared actually going back to Gatchman with that same question.

He had a vague idea what to do. Where would a dying teenage boy and a Guardian Force head off too? To get to the destination he had in mind, he needed a lot more speed then a car. He needed the Ragnarokk.

Kiros burst into the hospital room unannounced, his jaws clenched with his own anxiety. Laguna was asleep on the bed, an I.V. filled with black synthetic blood was latched to his arm. At the foot of his bed was his doctor.

I really vished youd knock before yoo entered. Glared the doctor.

Kiros apologized. Sorry. Just concerned.

Scowling, the doctor left the room. And dont let him gab into se next decade! He needs his rest! Shouted the doctor once he was further down the hall. Even he knew that the Prime Minister had a tongue of electricity.

Without the power, the door had to be slide manually, soKiros closed it. He looked down at Laguna, relieved that he was still okay.

Slowly, the Prime Minister looked up, his eyes barely opening. Hi Kiros. He spoke in Galbadian.

Hey Laguna. Kiros returned. I came here because dere is a freak pover outage all over de city. I hope Ward is okay.

A city vide blackout. Laguna pondered, completely closing his eyes for a second. And I didnt cause it.

I know. Its scary if yoo tink about it.

Agreeing silently, Laguna gave the best smile he could. Hey, Kiros. Blue Jay says hi.

Blue Jay? Youre Guardian Force? To answer Kiross question, he nodded. Its been, like, vat? Five? Ten?

Fifteen years Ive had him. And hes never spoken before. I consider sis a landmark occurance.

Vell, vatever floats your boat.

To that, Laguna nodded slowly. Blue Jay also vants to know vat happened to sat kid. You know, se vone hoo attacked me?

Squall?

Yeah, sat kid.

Blue Jay knows about Squall?

Of course. Hes alvays vis me.

Hes gone, Laguna.

Oh, sats too bad. I hope he didnt suffer.

Hes not dat kind of gone.

Seres no need to sugar coat it Kiros. I can take it.

No, I mean, he left.

I know. You said he vas gone.

I mean, as in, left de palace.

Usually you vould haff to leave if you died.

_Vell, I can honestly say youre going to live._ I didnt say de boy died!

And neiser did I. Vat are you getting at?

_Laguna, dis is one of dose time I vish your brain came vit an owners manual._

A harsh flash of pink and white light lit up the room, fallowed by such an overture of rumbling thunder the likes neither the men had heard in years.

Sats se shiniest rainstorm Ive ever seen. Laguna sighed with a blissful smile, waiting for the relaxing sounds of raindrops to come.

Kiros ran to the circular window, watching the tails of ten nuclear missiles lengthen as they shot into the sky. Dats no rainstorm.

Hey, quite ragging on my fun. Scolded Laguna, the best way he could scold anyone. He fell into a stupor then, spouting out Grellian verse quietly. Leaving his friend to his muttering poetry, Kiros ran out of the room. As temporary Prime Minister, he had to know how, and possibly why, those missiles were fired. And, find out where they would be heading.

Those missiles had been fired from right inside the base. Rinoa and Ellone were witness to it. Cowering on a high, second floor balcony that overlooked the slaughter at the main control room. There had been five people there; three mechanics, one engineer, and a single cyborg soldier. The heavy steal door had been melted open, and seven intruders hand stormed in. The five Estharians hadnt a chance; they were butchered in sight. Not only that, but Rinoa recognized some of them, and Ellone recognized most.

Hey. Its that little puny guy from Garden who used to suck his thumb. Ellone whispered.

Thats Whats-His-Name. Hes the pilot of the Garden now. Explained Rinoa, getting a serious knot in her gut. She held onto the book tighter, making it her new security item Why the hell is he in Esthar? How the hell is he in Esthar? The girls made sure to stay low, not looking over the edge of the balcony for long. All seven of them were armed. All, except Nida, had some sort of horn sticking out of their forehead: colourful, translucent things.

Nida had hacked into the computer easily, simply jamming some sort of pick into the console. Several red and yellow lights blinked on it before he pressed a big red button with bold Estharian letters on it.

What did he just press? Rinoa asked skittishly.

I dont know. But it probably isnt something too big, or the alarm would go off. Ellone whispered. And the alarm would have, if it were not for the fact that it was cut with the rest of the power.

Ellone looked over the ledge, down at the intruders. I know most of those faces. Ive seen them at Balamb Garden.

Are they SeeD? _Please dont be SeeD. Please dont be SeeD. Please dont be SeeD_

Whats-His-Name is.

I know. Zell told me. Ive never seen him with a weapon in his hand, though. Dont know if hes any good. Know anything about the others?

The scraggly blond wiener with the bow and quiver is Sindri. Dont know much about him, but hes the best sharp eye I have ever seen. Never misses a target. Sindri had a purple horn on his forehead.

The blond guy with the long hair and the nunchaku is Yuri. Hes not a SeeD either. Yuri had a red horn that looked a bit lopsided from their vantage point.

The girl with the bardache is Kord. Ellone continued to explain. Shes a good enough fighter, but shes very bitter. I know she still blames Squall for not making SeeD.

How come?

Not sure. I think its because she was once paired up with him for combat training. He probably broke her first axe in the fight and shes been pissed ever since. Kord had a blue horn.

_And I thought Seifer was bad._

The tall guy with the dark hair and the rapier is Yagi, I know hes good at magic. But I dont know the other two. Yagi had a moss green horn. The other two: one, a guy with an insane mop of frizzy brown hair and a belt that held a cord, probably a whip, had a yellow horn. The second had sort of brownish red hair and had seven javelins, one in each hand and five strapped to his back via a leather harness, and the a grey horn he had was pointing downwards.

Someone appeared from redden lit halls before them. A man: dark haired and dressed in earthy toned clothes. Nearly scared of being found out by this newcomer, the girls fears were eased as the person motioned for them to fallow him. Judging from what he wore, he probably wasnt Estharian. They fallowed him into the corridors where they no longer needed to take cover.

Completely curious, Rick began to go off with a thousand and one questions for Nida, mainly concerning what he did and why. The noise level he created made most of the group uneasy, wary if any more Estharians were to come.

Yuri and Sindri werent worried at all. Under the loud cover of Ricks questions, Yuri leaned over to whisper into Sindris ear.

Weve just been spotted.

By whom? Estharians. Responded Sindri.

Not quite. There were two people up on that balcony there. See it?

Yeah. Duh. Got any names?

One sounded familiar, but not the other.

Then, should we tell the others?

Hell no. If Nida was smart enough to come in here and launch missiles at something he barely knows anything about, he would have been smart enough to notice those two people.

With a sneer, Sindri agreed with him. Ever since Nida had implanted them all with those horns, something in them changed. He found out faster then anyone else that Yuri could read minds. He, himself, was granted something as well, and he couldnt wait to use it against Nida.

Again, in a whisper, Sindri spoke to Yuri. What about that guy who was fallowing us?

What guy?

Some guy who was fallowing us since Garden. Had black hair, Brown jacket I think. Cant sense that guy?

Nope. Must be like us. Probably knows how to block telepathy.

Furiously, the citizens and civilians of Esthar, professional or not, attempted to find the coarse of those missiles any way they could. The methods ranged from simple binoculars, to some serious satellite imaging.

A nurse sat beside Lagunas bed. The Prime Minister barely had the energy, or the urge, to look anywhere but at the window. Even so, the nurse held a battery operated device: a hand-held television like object called an optiphone, but known for short as a hand vid. It used digital wavelengths, and was specifically tuned into one of the thirteen observatories in the city.

Kiros was in the observatory the hand vid was connected to. There was nothing they could do about the missiles but watch where they were heading. Estharian missiles would head upwards until the very border between the mesosphere and the thermosphere, before their path domed off, and they descended towards their target.

Missiles haff breached de troposphere! Called one of the technicians. Path still stable!

A stable path was only a good sign depending on how you looked at it. An unstable path was a good indication the missiles were launched by mistake. But it was still too early to make that assumption.

Missiles haff breached de stratosphere! Called the same technician. Path is still stable!

It was time to assume. The missiles were launched on purpose. But where would they go?

Missiles haff entered de ionosphere! Path still stable!

The moment of conclusion was getting closer. With a stable coarse, it was obvious there was not going to be a miss. Even Laguna could feel the tension. It was much more for the concern of those the missiles would hit. Even though he could say he had nothing to do with it, who would believe him outside of Esthar?

Missiles haff entered de mesosphere! Path still stable!

The missiles would be tapering off soon.

Missiles haff entered de dermosphere! Path still stable! Dey arent tapering off!

Vat?! Shouted Kiros. Deyre still going up?!

Yes! Dey look like dey vill make it into space!

Launching missiles was one thing, but to get them out into naked space was a completely different scenario. Whoever launched them was no amateur.

Can you plot dere coarse?! Kiros more demanded then asked. The director, whom stood beside the minister, ordered several of the technicians to get on it.

Path still stable! Another technician shouted. Halfvay srough se sermosphere. I dont sink sey vill stop!

Can ve get a reading on ze missiles statis?! Demanded the director.

Impossible! Se instruments for sat are down! But se missiles semeslves are probably doing fine!

Dermosphere breached! Shouted the first technician. Path is still stable!

Those who were in charge of mapping the weapons coarse had gotten what they wanted. Ve haff se direction of se missiles!

Vere are zey heading?!

Up!

Missiles haff nearly breached de exosphere! Path still stable! That was when one of the missiles started to wobble randomly on screen, then disappeared.

One of de missiles is down!

In his room, Laguna was nearly overjoyed to hear thatnearly.

_Now, dat only leaves nine more._ Thought Kiros. Unfortunately, the remaining projectiles looked perfectly functional.

Missiles haff entered de magnetosphere! Path is still stable!"

Veve found a possible target! Shouted the technicians who deciphered their coarse. And its HUGE!

The director looked at the screen where the target was represented in full-scale shape. Zat zing

Dats de UFO! Finished Kiros dramatically. _I dont tink dey vill be very happy at being hit vit missiles._

The missiles flew through space towards their target, the great extraterrestrial behemoth looming up in front. All of Esthar who could, waited helplessly for them to hit this unknown, and possibly temperamental, visitor. Though, at the last minute, the technicians monitoring the progress had something more to say.

Seyre not going to hit se UFO!

And they didnt. The missiles missed, but hit something else.

Vat did sey hit? Laguna asked the nurse.

I haffnt a clue. She answered.

§:

As soon as the nine missiles made contact with the mystery object, something strange happened with the Griever ring. Secured on the chain around Rinoas neck, it started to glow an impossible black, with a faint purple aura, and began to jump. Shocked at this odd behaviour, Rinoa reflexively clutched the ring in her fist, secretly marvelling at the strength that seemingly inanimate object had.

Calming down after only a few seconds afterwards, she continued to fallow Ellone and the man. By then, they had learned his name: Dr. Korax Karrion. Rinoa remembered the name as a sequence of charred symbols on flesh.

What are you doing here? She had asked him in Classical Galbadian.

I was picked up. He had answered. I really wanted to get my patient back, and I was picked up. Havent a clue as to how Squall got into Estar, no one would answer dat. The doctor spoke in New Galbadian, but had a thinning Dollet accent, Rinoa noticed.

The man wore a simple attire of black slacks and a sort of dark golden moss coloured button up shirt, she couldnt place the exact hue of it though. His shoes were pointed, probably leather, dark in colour due to the weak red light. The jacket he wore was also dark coloured, possibly brown, and reached down to his thighs. Though the rest of his clothing looked neat and well maintained, the jacket was worn and stained in several places, it was probably an article of clothing that had sentimental value. Like Rinoa had first thought, very plain, excluding the thick leather belt he wore. The buckle was hard to see, as it was actually positioned on his right side than at front, on his left was a huge scabbard, with the hilt of some kind of pistol. Could it have been? A gunblade? If so, could Dr. Karrion use it as a weapon? Why was he armed in the first place?

With her poor Galbadian, Ellone had to ask Rinoa about what he said. Rinoa, herself, nievely overjoyed with his appearance, hoping that he would have a few more answers to her ever-growing list of questions. For one, why was Squall in a mental institute in the first place? What was troubling him? How could she cope? And other such questions along that line. Ellone wasnt as relaxed. How could she when that complete stranger was armed!

As for Karrion, he recognized Rinoa easily. Squall had spoken of her once, and not willingly. It had been the first time he met him. The boy was sopping wet, one of the nurses claimed he had bit him, and so he had been sprayed with a high-pressure hose to calm him down. Whether that claim was true or not, Squall proved to be a difficult patient right off the bat.

Opening the door, the doctor had stepped into the featureless square room, with its white brick walls, its corroded grey cement floor, and its one fluorescent light fixture. The floor slanted a bit towards a drain built into its centre.

Hello Squall. Began Karrion, squatting down to look at his new patient sitting on the floor. Im Dr. Karrion.

He turned his head to look at him slowly, slightly shivering from the water. _Vrökþal._ Fuck you. Karrion hadnt a clue what that meant, so he squashed the use of his native tongue fast, grabbing his by the arm with an iron tight grip.

Im sorry, he apologized with mock sincerity, but we cant speak in a language neider of us use. Poor communication, it's poor communication

_Akrk fau sðr YSRING vri!_ I dont need a doctor!.

For his outburst, Karrion backhanded him. If you need to speak, speak Galbadian. And dont give me de excuse you cant speak Galbadian, because I was informed you could! Much too angry and distressed, Squall refused to answer with anything but a sour glare. For that, Karrion had thrown him against the wall. The boy hit the solid brick back first, dropping to his side. The force was not only amazing, but also not even predicted, so Squalls fears immediately became magnified. Opening his eyes wide to see his psychiatrist sauntering over as if nothing happened, Squall caught the tinge of something in the nicks and cracks of the floor, coagulated from age. There was blood on that floor, and if he was not carefull, his blood could be added.

Standing over him, the point of his shoe nearly touching his patients nose, Karrion had picked him up by the shoulders, and slammed him against the wall, his feet dangling a few inches off the ground.

Do you want me to trow you against anoder wall? Karrion began as if the feet were easily copied. Squall didnt meet his face, but he had shaken his head no. _See, you can speak Galbadian._ Youre sick Squall, and you will not get better by being stubborn, now will you? Squall shook his head again, but still did not look his doctor in the eye.

Look at me now. Karrion wasnt shouting, but he proved his authority by slamming Squall against the wall again. Look at me boy! Reluctantly, he looked up. He was never very good with reading anothers emotions, but looking into Dr. Karrions eyes was like looking into a cyborgs; there was nothing. But, Karrion was right; being stubborn would not help him. As a mercenary, he was taught, and expected, to calm down. He would find a way out of there in time.

_And where would you run to?_ Spat Cloak. _Whom would you go to?_ Was it some sort of drug withdrawal, mental eclipse, or the fact that he hadnt eaten in over twenty-four hours, but he thought of the only person he cared to care about. Rinoa. Somehow, that thought was verbalized.

Over his time with Squall, Karrion learned only a few more tidbits about that girl Rinoa. He looked at her as she tried to read a large map on the wall; trying to find an aircraft she called Ragnarokk. Squalls physical description only included enamel fine skin, sard fanged obsidian hair and wearing blue. She seemed sweet, yet assertive, what a shame Squall had ended up in a mental institute. Hopefully, she was nieve, too.

The other girl, he wasnt too sure of. Looking over at her, Karrion saw that Ellone was giving him a suspicious look.


	14. Squall's Threat

32

Squalls Threat

Five mechanics and two engineers of Esthar were combing the darkened husk of the wall. Without any power, it was hard to find the exact cause of what could have caused the blackout. Only their flashlights leant them any light. The white of their robes made it easier to spot each other in the darkness.

Scouring the western walls, they came across nothing unusual, until one of the party heard something off in the distance. Breaking away from the group, she headed towards the enigmatic sound. As soon as she looked up, she nearly forgot to tell the rest of her group. Nearly.

Over he_egh_! She gagged.

Alarmed by the unusual speech pattern, her comrades did come, only to find her twisted bloodied corpse under several dozen imps. They had killed her in one, swift attack. To get a better count, they all foolishly shone their lights up into the swarm, startling the volatile beasts. A dozen of them swooped down at one of them, teeth and claws digging freely into the flesh and cloth of one of them. As the imps victim screamed painfully for mercy and help, the remaining three ran, inciting the aggression of the imps. Another large group tackled one of the runners, his cries of agony ignored while the imps tore at his back and face.

Another imp jumped free of the crowd, latching onto the shoulders of the closest human. As like the other three, the human, a middle aged woman, screamed, but did not falter. She fought with the imp, sticking her fingers into its bulbous eyes, grabbing its tail and tugging it as hard as she could. She continued to stand throughout the struggle, until she unknowingly fell off the catwalk. The winged imp; tail still in the womans grip, continued to flap until they both fell to their deaths.

The last of the group continued to run, too afraid to look back. A couple of imps flew after her, one narrowly missing her leg, and the second grabbing onto her hair. Startled, she stumbled slightly, but it left enough time for the first imp to catch up, finally grabbing hold of her leg and biting down. The second locked its shrew like teeth around her ear. Though agonizing their torment was, she the mechanic, refused to falter. Four of her close comrades had died at their hands. She had to be the one to tell the city what was happening. She had to.

With the power off, all holographic maps were deleted as well, leaving only the hard documented ones hanging on the wall, but the red emergency lights werent making it easy to read them. Ellone tried her best, though twenty-twenty vision didnt help that much. She could barely make out the marker that said **You Are Here**.

Rinoa was with Dr. Karrion only a couple meters away. Though Ellone, herself, refused to associate with that man, and she doubted that it was because his jacket looked like it was dragged through the sewer.

So, why are you alone again Dr. Karrion? Rinoa asked in Classical Galbadian.

It was dose damn kids. Karrion lied, referring to Nida and his group. My entourage got too close and dey wanted to extinguish all witnesses. I only escaped because I ran.

Would they be looking for you?

Ive seen too many movies to doubt dey would. _And Nida would have a few choice words for me._

Rinoa understood a semblance of what the man was facing. She had her fair share of running away in various situations. But, it wasnt like she could bring him back to the Palace. Rinoa was only welcomed partly because Prime Minister Laguna knew her, and probably partly because she was the Sorceress. She didnt think Laguna would allow her to start bringing home stray illegal aliens. It wasnt like the Palace was even her home! But, she couldnt very well leave the doctor to be slaughtered in some foreign country either.

When they got the Ragnarokk, what next? Rinoa already had a very good idea about that. Esthar couldnt say he was an illegal alien if he wasnt officially _on_ their soil.

Finally, Ellone spoke up from further away, _Alina elimi!_ Ive found it! She announced.

In reflection of the most miserable day he had seen since the war, Kiros lay sprawled on a couch in the palace den, wondering why Laguna always had the best of luck. Explained to him, he would have to agree with a laugh, Laguna did have all the luck the faeries could spare. And, as luck had it, he was currently hospitalized with a serious injury, while he, Kiros, was left in charge of a city wide black out, an escaped convict who could probably do more damage before he died, potentially aggravated extraterrestrial visitors, wayward missiles, and now, the Ragnarokk was stolen. Yes, Laguna did have all the dumb luck.

There seemed to be no end to their misfortune that day. Still fresh in the peoples minds were the events of the last Lunar Cry, the last invasion of chaotic beasts, that it seamed as soon as the power went out, everyone still knew how to go about rioting.

The soldiers, backed up by their machines, were having a hard enough time holding back a crowd that was trying to loot the market for batteries when they saw the red shine of the Ragnarokk rise. High into the air, it glistened under the sun like a red eagle of metal. The wires that had hooked it up to their computer snapped under the merciless stress of its ascensions. Then, it took off, heading west.

I dont trust that man. Snapped Ellone. They had left Dr. Karrion in the hanger, musing to himself in Dollet, ogling the alien tech. Rinoa was attempting to pilot the craft. It just sort of took off. At least it had been easier then getting in.

If he had anything planned against us, she argued, he wouldnt have bothered to come all this way here.

How do you explain Squalls eyes?

Hes blind. Answered Rinoa bluntly.

And do you know how? Ellones pitch was rising with frustration. They were burned Rinoa! Who, in their right mind would burn their own eyes?

Squalls not in his right mind. I told Dr. Karrion about that, he says they were self inflicted; would have burned his own tongue too if he hadnt butted in

Oh, come on. Who would burn off their own tongue?

Well, I was just as distressed to hear that as well. But, Squall has issues... Big, hairy assed issues. _That, hopefully, I havent caused._ She hung her head momentarily, slamming her fist against the dashboard.

Ellone didnt push the subject some more, but she was still worried. If only she didnt have that damn chocker. She touched the green jewel on the front, regretfully pondering what she could have done without it.

So, Rinoa began with a sigh, Whats at this Seifer Rice Fin?

Siphon Thrice Fit. Shes made up completely of Echo Crystals. To Echo Hosts, she is like our Queen. Im not so sure, but if Squall picked anything up on her, he would be heading out there. Theres just something about her

_And its a good thing we arent walking._

From below, Dr. Karrion could here everything they had said. Someone had probably left the intercom on. Fortunate for them was that they were speaking Alcauldian, so Karrion didnt really understand a word. Even so, he understood tone enough. They had been arguing about something, or someone. It could have been a number of things, but Korax Karrion wasnt stupid or novice enough to leave it up to chance. If it was him they were arguing about, then he could expect trouble. If he could keep the Sorceresss trust, he would have a powerful ally.

The Ragnarokk grazed over the city, past the wall, and over the wastes just outside the outskirts. Having to worry about less and less obstructions, the Ragnarokk was lowered a little closer to the ground. They came to huge bluffs that sheltered a great, and deep, white expanse.

Amazing. Rinoa had ogled. The ground is completely flat here.

Its the White Caldera. Ellone explained. That white is only a thin film of salt covering a lake of tar.

Tar? Theres tar out here?

Quite. The entire caldera is connected to a huge long fault with nothing but tar on the bottom. Next to the White Caldera, probably the most distinguishing feature of the Great Salt Lake.

Since she had mentioned it, Rinoa could see some steam coming out of the salt. And, up ahead, the mouth of that fault. She could see how the salt carpet thinned out inside those fjord walls, and the tar was completely exposed. So entranced, she was, with the scenery, that she only realized she was about to barrel into the cliffs by Ellones shouting. Not really knowing how, she pulled on the steering column like she had seen in so many movies, and the ship shot up, zooming over the rock. Getting the ship to straighten out again proved just as easy, simply by easing up on the steering column. Finally, it was down to business, they had to find the others. But, where would they look? Rinoa was underground when she left, and Ellone would be no help. Again, if only they didnt have those Odine items

The sky behind them grew brighter in intensity, engulfing their vision. Terrified that of the flash devouring them, Rinoa was close to veering them off course until the light diminished into a form before them; that of a huge bird in flight.

Mouths agape, the two girls stared at the bird reverently. Its majestic wings glowed like embers on gold. Several pinions near the base of the birds wings were blue and green. The tail was forked into a plume of dazzling orange sparks. A large, fantastic crest was on the head of the bird. There looked to be two passengers on the back of it.

Sweat God of Gods! Gawked Rinoa. Is that a

Phoenix?!

Under the light, the phoenix looked very much like it was a jewel of internal fire. Compelled by the beauty of the plumage, the Ragnarokk fallowed after it as the legendary bird sped over the Black Canyon, sparks of all the colours of the rainbow trailing from its wings and tail.

_This is amazing!_ Thought Rinoa with much admiration and excitement. _A real phoenix! Not just some summoned apparition!_

The speed at which the phoenix traveled and the ship trailed was phenomenal. In no time, they passed the opposite mouth of the Black Canyon. Swiftly ahead, they kept going, with the phoenix finally landing beside an outcropping of rock. Finding the Ragnarokk much harder to land then to lift off, Rinoa finally brought the craft to a skidding halt on the salt. Hopefully, the scratches they made could be buffed out.

More time was taken to find the mechanism to lower the ramp. To think, Selphie and Squall had made it look so easy. Finally, Ellone found the button that read **DROP RAMP** underneath it.

Out first was Dr. Karrion. The vast white before him reminded of snow, but once off the platform and into the burning sun, he rethought the white as sand. He bent down, picking up a handful of the dirt and licked it. Salt. All the white around him was salt. And, as his eyes revived from the glare, he could see large skeletons in the distance. Looking up, he saw something truly bizarre.

Rinoa was out of the ship in seconds, seeing Dr. Karrion as he stared up at the deep blue sky. Dr. Karrion She began, but all he did was point towards the sky at what he saw. Quickly, she bounded down the ramp, seeing right away what was pointed at, also having to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sky.

Ellone came very last, wondering what the other two were looking at. Rinoa, what are you?

Ellone! She interrupted. Youve got to see this! She pointed up to the sky as Karrion had done. Running down the ramp, she looked up as well.

Dear Hyne! Balked Ellone. Two suns! She, too, shielded her eyes from the light. But oddly, Karrion did no such thing. Was his eyesight just really poor that there was no need to?

Its been like that for about a whole day now. Spoke a very loud, and very gentle voice in Alcauldian. The three of them turned around, staring up at the head of the great phoenix as it peered over the bow of the Ragnarokk.

You talk! Shouted Rinoa, running towards the bird with anticipation. Ellone tried to call her to be careful, but she hardly listened as she skidded to a stop in front of the shining bird. The phoenix sat on its haunches; its talons were splayed out underneath, delicately digging into the salt. It looked down at her with an odd sort of look, one that reminded Rinoa of the one her grandmother would always give her when she handed her a plate of oven fresh tarts. The beak of the phoenix was covered with scratches. From on top of its shoulders dropped two small figures. Rinoa recognized neither of them until they bounded forward closer. It was those two Moomba, what were their names? Bishop and Deacon? The smaller of the two seemed very cheerful, and jumped into Rinoas arms, giving her quite the hug as he nuzzled her cheek. The other larger of the two, walked at a more dignified pace. Looking down at them, Sly the phoenix recognized the girl in front of him: a Sorceress, **the** Sorceress.

Ellone had gotten up beside Rinoa, and hung her mouth open in surprise when she saw the two Moomba. Two more moombas? Dr. Karrion came up at a more leisurely saunter.

These Moomba, began Sly, They came with Squall out of the salty wastes. He neglected to say he was the chocobo that accompanied them; it was best that the information therein remained hidden.

Youve met Squall? Inquired Rinoa.

Yes I did. Distraught young man, he was. Three Moomba: Bishop, Deacon, and Cardinal accompanied him.

Three moombas accompanied a human? Ellone wondered out loud. She looked up at Sly. I didnt think moombas associated with humans.

They new his father. And so, they wanted to reunite them.

Immediately, Ellone knew whom he was talking about. But Rinoa was overcome with a sort of joyful anticipation. She had once admired her own father, before her mother died. There were several instances where her father would blame her for her mothers death, crushing her admiration. But a fatherly figure was something Squall sorely lacked his entire life and needed badly. Having the Moomba come along and try to reunite them was like a fairy tale.

Or, at least, I think thats what they were trying to do. Sly continued. Bishop started to enact a little pantomime.

Uh Was all Ellone had to say about it.

Can I ask you a question phoenix?

Sinh. Replied Sly, giving a pseudonym.

Sinh. Would you know whats wrong with Squall? Karrion stared at her as if they had discovered his true intent, but looked away as soon as he realized it was a false alarm. Sly lowered his head, his beak nearly touching Rinoas own nose. Frightened that she may have offended, she stumbled backwards, hoping she wouldnt be snapped up in that scarred beak.

Quite relieved she was, when Sly answered her question. Hard to say. He is very sick, both in body, and in mind. Its like he is becoming something else, but is fighting not to. Like two storm fronts clashing together to create a tornado.

Rinoa listened intently to the answer. It took her a few seconds to realize what he was saying, until she put his explanation and Ellones description of an Echo Host into play.

Ellone, she began, That mutation you talked about. Whats it like?

Her eyes shot wide open with a glassy stare. Ive heard of some pretty grotesque mutations, but if anyone has shown a perverse reaction like Squall, hes the first Ive heard of! _Is it possible his body is rejecting the nucleic acid to the point of collapse?_ Another theory surfaced. For the first time in a while, Rinoa felt curiously satisfied, at least in one area, but again

Say, Sinh, Started she with a bit of hesitation, why are you here in the first place. I mean, funky tripe riper then whats happening now has happened before. Why show yourself to us?

I couldnt do anything. Sly replied truthfully. I could take out monsters, but even I could tell they were driven by something. Couldnt really put my talons on the whole mess until time buckled.

_Time buckled? Hes probably talking about time compression._ But times not buckled anymore. Surely theres nothing much to worry about. Ellone had to wonder if Rinoa was getting anywhere with their conversation.

True, time may no longer be smeared, but it was smeared. Have you perchance, Sorceress, ever heard of the Wayward? At the mention of wayward, Deacons ears perked high above his head, Bishop looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, Ellone started to smile like those smart kids in math class, and behind her, Rinoa felt a presence step closer. She looked behind her to see Dr. Karrion had stepped up, glaring at Sly perhaps, his hand moving in a peculiar way towards his coat, just the way Squall would always go for his own gunblade. He wouldnt have known what they were talking about, they were speaking Alcauldian: a language she assumed he didnt know. It must have been the tense looks on the Moomba and Sly that set him off.

I can honestly say I havent.

Chirpily, Ellone regaled her with an explanation. The Wayward is like a thousand Sorceresses. But theyre so rare and elusive. Kind of like that really good dream you have but never can remember. With her explanation, Rinoa heard the shing of Karrions gunblade sliding back into its scabbard. It was apparent that no one had turned vicious among them.

Most certainly wouldnt call a Wayward a dream. Began Sly. Quite the opposite. It all depends on how you look at them. For you see, a Wayward is a fluke of existence, created from an impossible phenomenon. Neither one is like the other.

And yet, interjected Rinoa, you look for it.

I have my reasons. What are yours?

I came to dig out my friends.

Ah. Well that, I can help you with as well. The phoenix veered around, staring down at a bare face of salted rock. Then, rearing upright, spreading his majestic wings as it hollered its fantastic eagle like call, and dug his talons into the white dirt.

Unchallenged, Odine entered the military hanger and compound where the Ragnarokk was supposed to be anchored. A man of the lab he was, completely locked up with only the bare minimum of social experience. Completely unaware that he was not supposed to be there, the fact that there was no one there to oppose him only reinforced the idea that the building was free for anyone to enter.

Like nearly everyone else, he had seen the missiles launched, but was unaware of the target they hit. Perhaps he could find out for himself. The computer that controlled the missiles would have a recent record on those missiles stats and projections. The easy, idiot-proof maps hung on the walls revealed where that computer was.

The computer he found easy enough. With his expert knowledge of computers, and advantage of having programmed that very machine, Dr. Odine hacked into the database, siphoning the information he needed.

What was that he saw? There was a mission code placed on each missile launch record, it was to help with keeping track of each launch, whether accident or not. But, there was no mission code on that report, as if it was never supposed to happen. It took some expert hacking to get rid of the mission code. The trajectory was pumped to maximum, a route that would take them directly into space. But, the error ratio was at the very minimum. It took more then superb computer prowess to pull something like that off; it took help, and time. The last he saw was the most startling. The missiles were set to hit a target in the magnetosphere! And they hit it! Though, there was no record of what they hit. Not surprising for a target that far away. But what if

He had to tell Gatchman about this information. Just as he turned around though, six soldiers, most of them probably cyborgs, jumped out of nowhere and pointed their guns at the doctor.

Freeze! They all shouted. To them, it looked like Odine was the one who had set off the missiles.

The gaping tear aligned itself to the crystalline walls of the Crystal pillar, the raw edges of it appearing as torn fabric around the circumference of the blindly shining junction.

Shooting out of the junction were the blades of two great scythes, clamping down on the floor like snake fangs. Out of the glowing pit Strychnine pulled herself, using her scythes as leverage until most of her body was emerged. That time, Squall had his elbows on her head, his legs dangled over her shoulders. He liked it better sitting in that position, and Strychnine had to agree, Squall was much more secure straddling her neck then hugging it.

The emergence of the rest of her tail revealed Cardinal, still holding onto the end for dear life. She huddled to the bone and sinew like a scared rodent, squeezing her eyes as closed as they would. Only when Strychnine began to shake her did she let go, falling to the floor with a bump. Sitting up, Cardinal stared into the dark sockets of the Guardian Force, wondering if tagging along was such a hot idea. Though, Strychnine was not in any foul mood towards her, so the Shemoomba was lucky. It had seemed so long that they had traveled inside that junction, about more then a month. Strychnine was overly proud of herself for getting her father through safely.

Squall slipped off of his Guardian Force, gingerly setting his feet on the cold crystal floor. His right leg cracked like an icicle in spring, but he was exceedingly overjoyed when he found that both of his legs could support him. Even more so, for every single second that went by he could feel a certainwave upon him, like he was being filled. He gave Strychnine a warm embrace. Over how long they were stuck in that alternate universe was hard to tell, even though the blue sky would give away to a completely black sky illuminated by a single, fantastic star of bright red light, possibly the day, he could not count the time. He had grown quite fond of his baby Guardian Force, even considered her a daughter. He had watched her grow over time, had taught her much. Even so she was still an infant, and the abilities Squall had thought all Guardian Forces could learn; he found she could not grasp. Strychnine, thus far, had only managed to grasp only the most basic commands, such as how to respond to being summoned, how to funnel paramagic and how to extract it. Also, she learned how to eat certain curses and turn them into a charm. Such as the annoying curse of the berserker she could eat and turn into the charm of a protection, or the dreaded curse of zombie she could take and leave the glowing charm of the aura. There was also that habit she had of appearing without being summoned, this, she did solely to protect her father.

Cardinal had been holding onto Strychnines tail the whole time, it was as if she could not even see anything around her. Even Squall could see once more in that strange place. He could look down at his hands and see the burned scars on his boiled skin. He could see his nails, and how they were black and blue. He could see his emaciated feet and the black and blue toenails they sported. He lifted up his black shirt to see the nuke burn, it was more gruesome then he first thought. There was no skin on the entire burn, not even a trace of muscle on his ribs. If it were not for the thin coat of transparent resin, he would have been able to touch bone with his fingers. And, for the first time, he could see Strychnine. He had guessed she would look skeletal from descriptions and the bony feeling of her neck, back, and maw. Even those descriptions though, couldnt do her justice. She had a dangerous, morbid majesty about her that Squall adored.

Sadly, for all those things he could see, he never saw his own face. Every time he would look into the reflective surface of some mirror in the suddsy sand, or a creek in the scarps, he would only see the face of Cloak leering back at him.

_Squall._

He perked up as he heard his name in his head, a voice much to mature to be Strychnines. Were his Odine earrings broken? Could he hear Cardinal?

What? He remarked in Dollet.

Where were we gone all this time?

Cloak interrupted then. _Who the fuck gave her permission to speak? Theres plenty of other shit going around! If those Moomba are supposed to be so goddamn smart, she should know!_

Im about finished pondering those questions. Squall bluntly answered, letting go of Strychnine. He nearly fell to his knees, though his ankles held the strength, his legs were still not strong enough to hold his entire weight upright. I dont have a damn clue if that was my mind, or some alternate reality.

It couldnt have been your mind. Stated Cardinal.

Squall took a few steps on his own, walking with the tips of his fingers to keep him steady. Why would you know?

_Because if it were your mind, I wouldnt have been able to go there. Even though I couldnt see anything, I was there, I could still hear you._

Then, if it was only another dimension. You should have seen it. Im not something special.

Dont count yourself short. Snapped Cardinal. Not special people dont kill two Sorceresses. Not special people dont become leaders before theyre two and ten winters. She got up in front of Squall, as if she were telling this to his face. Squall scoffed at the reasoning, to be labelled special felt poisonous, possibly because the outcome scared him. Special, meant it came with some form of responsibility, most likely one he was not prepared to take. Special, meant a whole new brand of tasks, those of which he did not care to tackle. Special, meant new threats, something he was not prepared to adjust to. Special, meant change, something he was not willing to do.

Whatever. Squall scoffed, lumbering away blindly from the Shemoomba on all fours. Strychnine snapped her jaws in an exited burst, and then dematerialized in a soupy mist.

Cardinal watched him plod away. _Uh, Squall?_ She didnt get any answer, but ran after him anyway. He could still hear a monster coming, but the Crystal Pillar had plenty of slumps, cracks, crevices, cliffs, and scarps to injure himself on.

Squall didnt pay any attention to her. All the time spent in that junction and he still wanted his space. Also, he wasnt too keen on her vague praises. He moved forward solely on some intangible premonition, as of some sort of pang of excitement were tugging on his gut. The closer he got towards this source, the stronger he felt. From lumbering around on all fours, he found he could walk nearly upright againnearly. Cardinal noticed this as well, and it frightened her. She watched as Squall wondered too close to a ledge and stumbled. Scrambling up to help, she saw that he had merely slipped off one ledge and landed on another. Relieved, she sat down and surveyed the area. Clearly, from the great height and depth of the somewhat round chamber, they were in the centre of the Crystal Pillar, or the throat of it. The Estharians had worked hard on this part of the Pillar, putting all sorts of odd surveillance and maintenance instruments, as well as great metal panels to probably serve as restraints or anchors for floors, walls, and any other artificial gizmos that were put in. Much of those artificial machines showed countless descending scratches, but the part that was the Pillar itself looked relatively unscathed. There were all sorts of overhangs: overhangs made up mainly of the Pillars walls, but of some artificial stuff that was damaged in the last Lunar Cry. Higher above her, Cardinal could see the shredded remains of the late Sorceress Adels tomb, shoved down the Crystal Pillars throat with the rest of the Lunar Cry. And several stories below her, there was a large overhanging mess of the Pillars walls, and tangled in the mess of what looked like crystal and shining thread, was some sort of space craft; paint job chipped nearly off its surface with so many scratches. After that fact, the craft looked in good condition.

Just as Cardinal put her foot over the ledge, ready to go retrieve Squall, a minor tremor shook the whole pillar, throwing her on her stomach. Squall nearly fell off his own ledge.

The Pillar rippled with a soft light, rotating from one side to the other.

**I know you are.** Growled a sour voice that cracked like a frogs. The language was completely alien to Cardinal, but Squall could recognize it as an older version of Alcauldian; the version said to have been used before the East and West peoples of the island merged. When he refused to answer back, the Pillar trembled again, but more violently then before. The quake threw Cardinal a few inches above the ground.

_Hey, Appalling Pace,_ Cloak chuckled, _dont say anything. Maybe you can piss her off._

Why?! Snapped Squall, shouting into the emptiness anyway. In certain places the glowing grew quite intense, and the Pillar growled.

_What part of dont say anything didnt you understand dip wad?!_

The voice wasnt impressed either way. **My rightful property! ECHO HOST! You are mine! SPEAK!** Cardinal cowered where she stood, hoping the shouts werent directed at her. The voice of the pillar was trilling, heavy, and a loud chorus of croaks, but Squall did not care any more.

I dont care if your Hyne Himself, eh yah! Ive been talking to every plant, animal, reflection, and noise that found me! Give me a damn good reason why I should talk to you!

_Oh, I like your attitude._

**I** Began the pillar, **drop you to demise!**

Thats not good enough!

The light of the pillar died down as the voice grumbled lowly. **Bribe?**

If you want to bribe me, Squall challenged, getting up on his feet, you can stop me from dying!

_YOU GO ME BOY!_

**You! No die. Only need new body.**

Then can I have a new body?!

**NO!** The force of the Pillars voice seemed to bowl him over. **Whiny little baby! No need do I for save you! You die like stinkin animal!**

_Who the fuck is that mess of a tube calling a stinking animal baby?! Dont let that bitch bowl you over you dumbass!_

Then Ill come back and haunt your ass! Im sick and tired of all this goddamn god shit! If you want to lord over me, then prove your power by killing me! And he wasnt bluffing either. If the Crystal Pillar was going to play high and mighty with him, it might as well have skipped the hallow taunts and teasing and got straight to the killing. Though, the Crystal Pillar thought he was bluffing.

The Pillars light started to move around in waves, contemplating what was transpiring. It took a long while, as its brain was not capable of such in-depth negotiations. Finally, it came to one realization: it was being threatened! Cardinal was contemplating whether it was wise to run away or not.

**You threaten me?!**

I guess I did!

_I guess he did!_

**DEAD MAN! You give me mind! NOW!** The Pillar dove at Squall with all its awesome mental energy, but was surprised when it ran smack into a mental wall. It could not get into Squalls mind. The Crystal Pillar withdrew its telepathic barrage and gurgled in awe. The telepathic male would certainly live up to whatever threat he had in mind. As an enemy, he could waste it easily, but as an ally

**No kill.** Trilled the Pillar. **I do something for you maybe?**

_Sbout damn time!_

Well duh! I want a new body you freak of a quartz formation!

**FREAK?! I am Siphon Thrice Fit! I remember request. I give you request. But first, something for me eh yah.**

_Stupid greedy freak! She just wants something in return! Get diplomatic on her ass Appalling Pace, or else!_

Oh terrific. A damn catch. Squall snarled. Always a goddamn fucking hairy assed catch!

**Big catch.** Agreed Siphon Thrice Fit. **First, give me see mind. Second, give me power. Damn predecessor took all power, left me weak.**

_Wait! Thats two things!_

Wait! Thats two things! Repeated Squall. You owe me something else to even the score!

_This males good._ Admitted Siphon. **Fine, fine. I give you one thing more.**

But I dont even know what you use for energy!

**Moon stream give plenty power. I like heat very much. Heat, light and sound. Moon stream no come down for long time more. Heat, light and sound work good. But not enough I get just sitting here. I need more power to imbue Wayward.**

Monsters. Siphon Thrice Fit was, in no doubt, talking about monsters. But, from the outcome of the last Lunar Cry, it was clear that she didnt eat them to get her sustenance, but probably absorbed something off of them. Then what about heat, light, and sound? Maybe Esthar had a giant sonic cannon that would suffice, or a giant heat ray. Maybe if everyone on the continent shouted and made as much noise as they could would help, but how would he be able to organize something like that? The solar panels in the Dingo Desert were famous. If he reflected the light and heat from the sun at Siphon, would that help? No, that wouldnt, it would just be hitting the metal that was the Lunatic Pandora. He had to get the heat and light into the pillared throat of her. Well, back to the sonic cannon theory.

Maybe Siphon Thrice Fit didnt need a particularly large quantity of energy. If he could get a good-sized crowd to make a lot of noisecertainly, a whole country was out of the question, but could Garden do it? Squall shuddered about the thought of facing those people again. Then, there was finding them. Though, they did make a habit of returning to Balamb for supplies and the like

_Wait a minute!_ Siphon Thrice Fit! Shouted Squall, pointing upwards in a random direction. Youre on!

**Much pleased.**

_And so am I. Take no guff and get her to play on your terms!_

With his permission granted, Siphon dove into Squalls mind. The feeling wasnt at all as invasive as he had thought, more like a filling sensation as she permeated every inch of his consciousness. The further she searched, the more she became convinced that it was a good idea to take the boy as an ally. He was a rugged fighter and a slippery little eel in heart. She saw a lion: Griever. The huge cat was floating high, but hovered out of the reaches of Squalls being, where the unwanted eel managed to slip in and out with barely a fight. The stench of blood, metal and chlorine were everywhere, with none overpowering the other. Red, purple, blue and black did not flow like water, but hung like spiked diamonds. She saw what Squall was capable of, and marvelled in awe and terror. She saw many things, and one thing in particular that pleased her especially.

She withdrew from his mind.

**Indeed vicious baby.**

Thanks. Sneered Squall. Now what about my body?

**No need. You create own body. You do so right now. But for second thing**

Out of the crystal lining protruded a long, wispy vein with syringe like spade on the end. **Hold still.** Demanded Siphon as the spade head shot straight for Squall.


	15. Unreliable

15

Unreliable

Noon had come and gone on that chaotic day, it was getting into the afternoon, only a bare hour until 17:00 hours. Kiros had been left no time to negotiate postponing Squall's execution. If he were not around by the time the clock hit five, he would have to give the unfortunate order to kill him on sight as per Estharian law.

A while ago, a small troop of soldiers had come across the only survivor of the imp encounter; wounded, distraught. She babbled on about the imp invasion in a depressing mantra. No one was able to get anything out of her but 'a great swarm of imps in the darkness' before she died.

They had finally been dragged out of that stinking hole in the ground, but Seifer couldn't find any peace with it. While so many were in awe of such an unusual item as the Ragnarokk, he could only sit in the passenger's deck and scowl at the passing white wastes.

In his eyes, he had done a pretty good job of rounding up those Forest Owl's, scared gutless in that dark cavern. He thought himself very high and mighty when he swayed Quistis, that messenger girl, and the Galb on his side. In the end, it had only been that whiney Owl and Rinoa's dog What's Her Muzzle that had stayed behind. With Raijin and Fujin behind him, he had ordered them all to head back the way they came. He would have been the hero! They would have looked up to him if it hadn't been for the unprompted appearance of Rinoa, that Ellone girl and their giant bird who claimed he was a phoenix. It would have been him who would have gotten the glory.

The door to the passenger's deck slid open, but it wasn't anyone whom they expected was standing at the doorway.

"Dr. Wynhan I presume." Raijin and Fujin looked over at the door like fugitives caught in the spotlight, but Seifer glowered steadily.

"Oh, terrific." He scoffed in Galbadian. "The clouds part and Hyne says 'I hate you Seifer'."

"Well, it just so seems you have a knack for pissing people off." Interjected Dr. Karrion. "And Hyne, obviously, is not immune to your poisonous charm."

Furious, Seifer swung Parish overhead, aimed directly at Karrion's neck. To his surprise, though, he was blocked by another gunblade. Karrion's weapon was as red as jasper; with a blade serrated like a rotery saw. The back of the blade near the gun was actually hallowed. Seifer had never seen a model like that before. It was probably a custom job! Built for speed, it probably was, what with such a lightweight looking blade, he hadn't seen it coming, not alone heard it.

He withdrew Parish, stepping back from Karrion with a scowl. "_Irskirtor?!_" [Freakn' hell?!] Raijin and Fujin were just as amazed.

"I detest de use of Alcauldian Seifer." Koraks purred, earning him an incredulous look from him.

"You know my name!" Seifer hissed in Galbadian. "You bastard! I'll bet you've always known my name and you've led me on the whole time!"

"Indeed I did." The doctor admitted with pride. "I first saw you at Sorceress Edea's parade. You glanced over me once, but I bet you didn't even know whom you were seeing. But if I told you dat de first we met, how would dat be funny?"

His anger bubbling inside, Seifer shouted at Raijin: "_Raijin! Ðrakki akræ vifnr!_" [Raijin! Grind his bones!]

By reaction, the big guy happily charged at the psychiatrist, with his skull-snapping staff held high. As he brought it down to crush Karrion's face, he was greatly shocked to find the doctor had grabbed his staff with only one hand, and flung him overhead into the closed door of the passenger's deck.

"_Ewh mjidon?_" [What happened?] He asked in a daze as he slid head first onto the floor. His contact with the door had made an impressionable dent. Both Seifer and Fujin looked at Koraks like he had just burned down a church.

"All right Karrion," Seifer hissed with mirth, "besides sparring with me and throwing Raijin around, what the hell do you want?"

"My, aggressive today aren't we." Karrion patronized. "I lost a patient about a week ago. I tink you'd know him my boy." Seifer ground his teeth as he was called a boy, it was Bahamut that told him not to do anything stupid. In that moment, he hadn't a clue who was worse.

"He told me a lot about you." Continued Karrion. "In particular, how much he despised you. How much you irked him. How much he hated everyting about you…"

"All right! All right! I get it! I know who you're talking about!" Shouted Seifer, completely aggravated by the doctor's teasing. So Squall had blabbed about him to the sadist in front of him, he could live with that fact. "Just what did he say about me?" He had to ask.

"Dat you're a pompous attitude on legs. You have no direction. You've lost all touch wit reality. You're ungrateful. You only feel good by picking on udders. You pick on animals only because it pleases you. You're ego is suffocating. You won't listen to reason. You won't listen to anyting dat doesn't include you. You're lazy. You're selfish." _And too damn opportunistic for your own good._

"FORGOT PRETENCIOUS!" Fujin added.

"Hey!" Shot Seifer. "whose side are you one anyway?! Mine or Rat Boy's?!"

"Must've forgotten dat one." Koraks cooed. "Complex, aren't we. I must admit, on dat float I couldn't see a resemblance. Now, I do."

"A resemblance to what?!"

"Your brudder of course."

The statement irked him. "My brother! What the hell do you mean by that?!" Why was it he wasn't killing that lofty and arrogant doctor?

"_You kill that man and I will never come at your call again."_ Started Bahamut.

"Well, your half brudder actually." Crooned the doctor. "You didn't have de same mudder. He was born naturally. While you were, as de term is coined, a test tube baby."

Being called a 'test tube baby', was the sinker. Seifer wanted that man out of his sight. "Tell me why the fuck you are here you quack or I'll turn your organs into hot dog meat and serve them to that little blonde guy who put his fist in his mouth!"

"I'm here for my patient." Karrion started monotonously. "De udders in de institute wanted him dead because he's dangerous. I want him back for de very same reason."

"And you want me to get him back." Seifer hissed, annoyed that he didn't say so earlier, and glad he finally did.

"You and your lackeys, yes. Squall is mentally unstable. I don't know how he behaved around you before. But, I do know dat he'd run away if he heard me, whereas you have de unique ability to goad him out…"

"Damn straight I do!" Interrupted Seifer. "But I'm not trusting some nut who works with lunatics all day long. Insanity's contagious, and you're not immune!"

"Den I'm sorry I've wasted your time." Karrion falsely apologized. "Good day." He turned around to head out the door, but Seifer grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey! I said I didn't trust you. I didn't say you could go!"

The dinted door slid open, and Raijin's legs, which were still propped up against it, fell flat on the floor. Selphie sauntered into the passenger's deck, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step, and the odd black book with the bone spine and the eerie blue pages in her hand. She hardly noticed Koraks as she stepped in front of Seifer.

"Hey, scary blonde Seifer guy," she began in Alcauldian, holding up the book to his scowling face. "Rinoa asked if I could understand the writing on this book. But I can't. Can you?"

"Hell no!" He snarled. "And who the hell are you calling 'guy'?! You could have just left that out and called me Scary Blonde Seifer. Or better yet, Fearful Golden God!"

Fujin chuckled at his list of appealing synonyms.

He was not amused. "Zip it Fujin!"

"So you can't read this script?" Asked Selphie.

"What the hell did I just say?"

"Zip it Fujin?"

"NO! Before that!"

"That I should refer to you as my god?"

"Well, yes. But before that."

"Zip it Fujin?"

Seifer could feel the vein on his head about to pop from aggravation. "Are you really this stupid, or do you just get a kick out of pissing people off?"

"I choose the third column."

"There is no 'third column'. I only gave you two choices!"

"I know, but I didn't like any of your choices. So I made my own."

"And what was 'your' choice, dare I ask?"

"Umm…uh…I like nachos." She proceeded to give her most soul searing of award winning smiles.

"What sort of stupid answer is that?!"

"Now, now," She scolded, "there is no such thing as a stupid answer."

"THEN MY DAMN ANSWER IS NO, I CAN'T READ THAT FUCKING BOOK OF YOURS!" Seifer shouted at the top of his lungs, having enough of trying to decipher that girl.

"Well sheesh. You didn't have to be so snippy about it. Just say you don't."

_I thought Chicken Wuss was bad enough._ Seifer thought angrily. _How the hell does Rat Boy put up with this perpetual living sugar-high?_

"Well, if you can't read this," Selphie continued, still smiling, "I'll go tell Rinoa. Bye Seifer. Bye Fujin. Bye Mysterious Guy I've Never Met But Recognize From Somewhere." She stopped suddenly, nearly stepping on Raijin. She turned around to look back at that dark haired stranger. Dr. Karrion stood his ground, giving Selphie the coldest smile she had seen since Squall sent her off to infiltrate that missile base in the Gabadian planes. Well, technically she had gone of her own accord, but Squall still smiled like that.

"Hey, I know you!" Selphie pointed with a happy skip. "You were at the North Yaulny Institute. You're a doctor there aren't you?"

Rinoa had taken the co-pilot's seat while Zell, with his fist in his mouth, sat in the pilot's seat. Angelo sat happily right beside her master. Watts had fallen asleep in one of the crew seats. Being stuck in that hole had taken a toll on the whole lot of them.

"There was something down there", Quistis had said, "and one of them attacked Seifer two more times after you left". The food situation would not be put down, and cannibalism was mentioned numerously; either that, or they would eat the dog. That's how many of them had received bites, which were healed over with a spell. Eventually, Seifer took control of the situation and convinced everyone that they were heading the wrong way. If it weren't for Rinoa, Ellone, the three Moomba and that amazing bird she called Sihn, they would probably still be down there. If they had believed her that he was a phoenix, she had no idea.

Over the ships dashboard was a projected hologram, reading like an onboard computer screen, and it started beeping, alerting Angelo to perk up her head and start barking at it. The central point was lit up brightly, and behind it were two incoming dots, slowly getting closer to the bigger dot. There was something written over the bigger dot, and something written over the little dots, but they were in Estherian script. Rinoa calmed her dog down successfully, there was no need for her barking.

Zell tried to say something, but was mumbled by his fist.

"Zell, if you can't get your fist out of your mouth," Rinoa scolded, "then you shouldn't have put it there in the first place!" Annoyed, she took hold of his wrist and yanked his fist out of his mouth herself.

"Ow, I think I pulled something." He whined as he rubbed his sore jaw.

"You're welcome." Rinoa spat sarcastically.

They looked at the blinking dots on the screen again, nor really knowing what they were. A third one joined it, fallowed by a fourth.

"The hell is this?" Zell began, staring up at the beeping hologram. "An on-board game?"

The elevator to the cockpit shot up with no warning, and Ellone ran right in with the most distressing look about her.

"ESTHAR PARTROL WINGS!" She shouted. "Five of them! They've tracked us down!"

At hearing that, Rinoa shot out of her chair, as frightened as Ellone. "HELL NO!" Angelo bolted upright, ready for anything that would harm her or her master.

"What? Am I missing something?" Zell started with bewilderment.

"Estherian cops are on our tail." Elaborated Ellone.

"So?" He asked sceptically.

"So," started Rinoa, "we're in trouble. We didn't borrow this ship. It's stolen!"

"Well, since you put it that way…I think the Estharian's would be pretty pissed."

"Think they're pissed now? Wait until they find we're carrying twenty three bodies worth of illegal aliens!" Her shouting woke Watts up.

"Oh, we have aliens now?" Zell scowled. "Then ditch them if they're that much of a problem."

"Zell, you _are_ one of the aliens!"

He looked quite pleased to be called such. "Really? Awesome!"

Into the cockpit ran Quistis, Irvine, Selphi, Andy, Brix, Keith, and Bishop. The Moomba ran straight towards the hologram, standing upright as best he could for a better vantage. Selphie was still holding onto that book.

"What the hell's happening' out there?!" Shouted Irvine in Galbadian. "There are, like, five Estharian iron birds at our asses!"

"The Ragnarokk is hot." Blurted Zell. Rinoa was close to trying to pave over his words, but didn't bother as that was pretty much what it was.

Quistis wasn't prepared to hear that at all. "WHAT? You stole this thing?"

"We didn't have a lot of options Quistis!" Defended Rinoa.

"We know the Prime Minister! Couldn't you have gotten permission from him?!"

"Uncle Laguna is currently incapacitated." Explained Ellone. "The city is in turmoil right now! The power's out and people are rioting in the streets!"

"And on top of that," Added Rinoa, "Dr. Odine performed one of his senseless experiments on me! I still don't know what the hell he did!"

"That doesn't explain why you stole this ship!" Quistis scolded, her face turning red.

"I stole it to get you out of that goddamn hole!" Answered Rinoa, her face also turning red.

The monitor with the blips on it was replaced by the insectoid looking mask of an officer. He spoke some order in Estharian. All of them, Moomba and dog included, crowded around the looming picture.

"What did he say?" Irvine asked reluctantly. "Or, what did she say? I can't tell the difference."

"He wants us to land the ship or they'll shoot us down!" Ellone translated, her voice wavering with worry.

"Then that clinches it." Concluded Quistis. "Land this ship Zell!"

"No Zell!" Interjected Rinoa. "Keep this ship up!"

"Technically," Zell started calmly, "I have to listen to Quistis, what with being the superior SeeD. I even agree with her. We're not helping ourselves by pissing them off more."

"I'm agreeing with that logic." Started Irvine. "It's not like we can outrun these guys forever."

Ellone argued the fact. "Well, I'm not for it! Quistis, I know you don't know a lot about what's happing right now. But the whole city really is on edge, and Esthar has never really been kind to unwanted foreigners. They'll kill us!"

"Oh, are you sure?" Quistis asked sceptically.

"Better safe then sorry."

"They're arguing again." Watts muttered to his Timber friends. "I don't like it when these guys yell."

They continued to yell at each other, Bishop squeaked furiously for attention, and Angelo began to bark in response to the noise level. The officer on the holographic monitor said something none of the others caught, and then signed out, leaving the beeping icons that represented the Estharian patrol coming to arrest them, and, as Ellone had put it, there were five dots. No sooner did the monitor change then the ship was rattled from the stern. Angelo barked in the general noise of the calamity, a very futile effort, but the only one she knew she could perform.

"THEYR'E SHOOTING AT US!" Shouted Watts in Mainstream. "THEY'RE SHOOTING AT US!" Again, they were shaken violently from the stern. Two wild laser streams proved Watt's assumption that they were, indeed, being shot at.

"Well, so much for surrendering." Quistis remarked feeling quite defeated. "Now what?"

"We'll out fly them." Announced Rinoa. "The Ragnarokk can go so much faster then this. Now where are those boosters?" She looked all over the dashboard, but had some trouble with the Estharian marked buttons. "Zell, help me out here mate. You've used them before."

"_Psht_, of course I do." He looked rather smug to say that. "It's right here." Barely looking down at it, he pressed a yellow button with a white spiral on it. Unfortunately, all they got was some weird modem noise.

No one was more disappointed then Rinoa. "You sure that's the booster?"

A message popped up on the smaller monitor in front of the pilot's keyboard. Only Ellone could read it, as it was like everything else, in Estharian.

"Command is invalid." She read off.

"Invalid?!" Zell shouted. "What the hell does that mean?" They were shot at again. Angelo had stopped barking and gotten protectively beside Rinoa.

Watt's crazed tantrum was threatening to break something. "C'mon guys." Andy commanded in Mainstream. "If everyone is acting like Watts is, there's going to be chaos below."

"And why do you think so?" Brix challenged, crossing his arms.

"Well, you can stay up here if you want. But personally, I haven't a damn clue what this ship is capable of. I'd rather stick to Owl matters then this. Unless you prefer Watt's to run you over like a sixteen wheal semi?" Just then, Watts crashed into Keith. Since Keith was the bigger of the two, it was Watts who was sent tumbling. The Ragnarokk was shot at again, throwing everyone off balance.

Fuming all the way to the cockpit, Seifer appeared on the lift, with fury being the most appropriate look on his face.

"What the fuck is going on?!" He shouted in Alcauldian.

"Esthar's shooting at us." Blurted Zell.

Seifer was already drooling with rage. "And why is THAT?!"

"Rinoa and Sis stole this ship." Zell blurted again.

"She WHAT?!" He stormed over to Rinoa. Angelo growled in defence as he approached. "What the hell were you thinking woman?!"

Rinoa wasn't phazed by his stare, but met him with her own defence. "Well, excuse me for wanting to get you out of the ground!"

"I had everything under control bitch!"

"No you didn't! You were leading everyone back the way you came!" As they were yelling, the ship was hit again; twice! The fireworks that were the laser shots would have been quite beautiful if it were not for the fact that they were lethal and aimed at them.

It was no use arguing, Seifer found the laser shots more annoying. "To hell with this." He stormed off towards the elevator.

"Wait, what are you going to do Seifer?!" Demanded Quistis.

"What does it look like?! I'm going to shoot those bastards back!" He disappeared down the elevator.

"WHAT?! SEIFER, YOU IDIOT! GET BACK HERE!"

"Yeah Seifer!" Shouted Selphie. "They'll shoot you clear off the hood!"

Quistis looked at her. "Shoot him? I was just concerned about his back."

Seifer stomped past the hanger in a rage, heading towards the air lock.

"_You should listen to Quistis."_ Bellowed Bahamut. "_You'll be a sitting mog out there!"_

"Says you." Snapped Seifer, wondering how Bahamut knew Quistis' name. _Of course he would know her name._ He concluded. _The dragon used to be Squall's GF._

"_Squall wouldn't have gone out there without a plan!"_ The dragon barked.

"Well, I'm not Squall. Get used to that Cinder Breath!"

"_Don't push it arrogant hoodlum! I can just as easily turn on you!"_

He only knew the Ragnarokk as well as the Forest Owls did. His knowledge of Estharian was just as lax. Fortunately, there was only two buttons in the air lock: a red button and a blue button. Since the blue button was lit up, he pressed the red one, and the air lock opened.

Up the ladder; his head barely above the lock's lip, he was nearly shot by a well-aimed laser. Even though he wasn't hit, it still felt like he was hit with a jet of flame.

"_Turn back now! While you still have a head!"_ Roared Bahamut.

Seifer just sneered at the order, not fearing one lousy shot. He ascended upwards completely by the time Quistis, Zell, and Selphie had gotten into the airlock.

"Seifer man!" Shouted Zell. "Are you asking to get killed?!"

Quistis was still scolding. "Get down here you jackass! You're just asking to be a target!" But Seifer paid no heed. He aimed to stand up, like the righteous hero in the movies, but at the speed they were traveling, it was not possible; he was nearly blown off the end of the ship. At his second attempt, he was blown off completely.

As the only one at the top of the ladder, only Zell saw this. "Seifer!" His shout was a futile reaction. The laser shots from the pursuing ships aimed away from the Ragnarokk just then, and Zell was the only one to see why as well.

From where Seifer fell, he arose, but with huge blue dragon wings on his back. His head was practically hidden by a pair of large horns, and two pars of smaller ones, and Zell could see huge three fingered claws.

"What's happening up there Zell?" Asked Quistis.

"Well, the Estharians aren't shooting at us anymore. Seifer was blown off the edge of this thing and got wings somehow!"

"Wings? How did he get wings?"

"Maybe he got them off the internet." Suggested Selphie.

For what was going through Seifer's mind, he was ecstatic with excitement. Immediately, he knew what happened, just as he could see the waves of the sea come in and out. He had junctioned himself to Bahamut, he had no idea he could do that. Nor did he think the dragon even approved of it.

His excitement went south when he tried to fly. Even though he had lift, he had absolutely no thrust, and thus, just hovered in one spot, flapping his wings furiously. Unfortunately, as he flapped, he kept moving backwards. The ships stopped firing at the Ragnarokk, but, concerned of that new opponent, started to fire at him. Reflexively, Seifer threw his arms up. The laser beams though, felt no more then rough pebbles being thrown at him, he couldn't even feel their burn. Slowly, he let down his arms. A laser hit him just above his right brow, but reflected harmlessly off.

Turning his head around, he not only found he had a bit more neck, but that the Ragnarokk had flown past them, and made a sharp turn back. The fleet of five Estharian ships became three as two aimed right for Seifer. Even up close, their lasers had no effect on him, but in his hovering state, he couldn't do much to them either. As one came close, he attempted to slash at the hull with his huge claws, and that did create a considerable scratch, but not enough to dispose of the ship.

Sitting in the pilot's seat, it was Rinoa who turned the ship around. With Selphie, Quistis' and Ellone's help, she managed to find the weapons. But when they were used, the message 'command is invalid' came up again on the smaller monitor.

"Dammit!" She cursed, slamming her forehead into her palms. "Why isn't this ship working?!"

"This is an idea." Ellone offered. "The Ragnarokk was in the middle of being upgraded when we took off. The boosters and weapons were disabled because of that."

"Oh really." Quistis remarked with a disconcerting note, giving Rinoa quite the stare of disapproval. "You have the worst timing girl."

"Like you would have done better."

The ships continued their light show, hitting Seifer with everything they had, and rightfully stayed away from his flailing claws. Aggravated, he flailed around in mid-air as his wings continued to move, but he still didn't get anywhere. A rather large shower of laser beams hit him in the crotch, and for a second, he flew forward, but only a second. Desperately, he tried to recreate that manoeuvre, but he had no idea what he had done.

It didn't take long for one of the soaring ships to get up the courage to charge him. Trying to claw at a passing ship, he only saw that shining blue snout as it rammed into his stomach. It hurt much more then when he was hit with that jeep.

Getting over the shock and pain of the ramming ship, Seifer lifted his horned head to look his attacker in the eye. The entire front of the ship was as reflective as any mirror, but the pilot inside could see him. To him, it looked like Seifer was wearing a horned helm, with a visor covering much of his face. Only his eyes, glowing red like some burning neon lights, were visible.

Not deterred by the mirror-like window, Seifer swung his massive claws across it, shattering it easily. He found the pilot behind at the helm, oddly, showing no emotion towards the violent action, but just sat there in his seat like nothing happened. Seifer wrapped his whole clawed hand around the pilot's shoulders and derived great pleasure in tossing him aside. There was no cry for help that fallowed; it was as if the person were already dead. The ship still sped forward, but with no pilot it began to descend. Seifer crawled onto the hood of the maimed ship, the claws on his feet digging into the metal like tinfoil. He gleefully began to tear the ship apart until it crashed into the sand, throwing him off from the inertia.

Rolling a few times, he came to a stop on his back. The sudden landing was hard on him, but being shot by two incoming ships got him on his feet once more.

Wisely, the ships avoided getting too close, all they could do was shoot at him. Seifer was getting quite irked by those lasers, just like he would get irked by getting constantly hit with pebbles. In a blind range he started to jump and lash out at the huge metal pests with his teeth, snout, and claws.

"See, look at him!" Rinoa started, pointing to that Seifer Dragon as they flew overhead.

"Well I'll be damned." Remarked Irvine. "What sort of hocus pocus did that? I'm looking at you Rinoa." He insinuated, accusing her of the weird fusion act.

"I didn't do that." She defended, revealing her ring.

Zell particularly found the silver ring interesting. "Oh, is that an Odine Item?"

"I believe that's what' she's trying to say." Quistis pointed out bluntly.

"Well geez. You know you could just say right out 'I'm wearing an Odine Item' Rinoa. Would have saved me a lot of guessing."

"You never guessed once!"

Seifer cursed as the Ragnarokk flew overhead, surprising himself with how his voice had changed, and also that he _could_ still talk. His voice had actually sounded more mature, like he was in his fifties or sixties, and had a blaring quality like a tuba. That ship had weapons and he knew it! So, why weren't they shooting at those other little ships? He was getting frustrated enough trying to catch them, like so many flying hats. With so much energy and rage pent up, Seifer unleashed his own form of the vicious mega flare, red in colour, shining with searing heat. The recoil that came from the red flare threw his entire body back, and the flare itself was poorly aimed. The nimble little ships got out of the way fast enough, but the Ragnarokk was nearly hit.

"The hell was that?" Zell shouted after the ship stopped quaking.

"It was Seifer!" Bounded Selphie, poking her head in between the crowd that had already gathered at the dashboard. "He's protecting us from the evil Estharians." She certainly had a way with romanticizing the most critical of situations.

Zell begged to differ. "If he's protecting us from them, then why is he shooting at us?!"

"Relax Zell!" Snapped Quistis. "That shot was awkward. It was probably an accident."

"Yeah," Zell agreed with sarcasm, "a lethal accident!"

With that new revelation of his, Seifer gladly attempted to build up more energy. With a successful red flare formed, he shot it at the Estharian Patrol, but the recoil was still there, and the shot wasn't nearly as well aimed as it could have been. Gunblade specialists weren't known for their accuracy in the first place.

From their vantage point, Quistis pointed out; mainly to Zell, how he was trying to hit the attacking ships, and Irvine was kind to point out that he was a lousy shot. Quistis pointed out that not everyone there were snipers.

"Rinoa." Began Quistis. "We have to stay close to Seifer, he's the only one providing us with cover." Then another laser hit the Ragnarokk.

"That sounds great." Quaffed Rinoa. "But I'm kind of not keen on running head-long into the line of fire."

"Then step aside lassie!" Chirped Selphie, violently pushing Rinoa out of the pilot seat. "Let the pros do their job." Selphie took the seat in her place. With her hand firmly on the controls, she steered the Ragnarokk downwards, almost to the point where it looked like she would crash it.

"Uh, Selphie?" Irvine groaned with uneasiness. "What are you doing?"

"I'm goinna get close to Seifer. Then, he's goinna grab hold of the ship, and we can carry our cover with us."?p

"And what makes you think he'll grab hold of us?!" Began Zell sceptically and bitterly.

"Well, only one way to find out."

Back on the ground, Seifer couldn't help but stare at the psychotic run right at him. Who was it that was driving that huge red ship anyway? It was directly in the line of fire. As the Ragnarokk flew past, he instinctively latched onto the hull by his claws. Selphie knew by the loud clanging noise that they had gotten him.

His claws digging into the red metal, he attempted to climb onto the wing. The wind sheer was powerful, and got even more so as he got on top of the wing. Wisely, he did not attempt to stand up, but fired another of his red flares. The recoil still made accurate shots quite difficult. Flares loosed on the swarming ships would eventually explode in a shower of red and purple sparks, with a force that would rock anything close enough too it. To look directly at it was blinding, but not one of the little ships were hit.

Their ship was hit twice more.

"Dammit!" Zell cursed as shouts of 'we're goinna die! We're goinna die!' came from below. Being in Mainstream, it was most likely Watts. "Don't these bastards ever give up?!"

"Not if they're machines." Ellone answered. They were hit again.

"Well, whatever they are." He continued. "We can't out fly them and we can't shoot them." A flare explosion could be seen to their left. "Dammit! Even Squall could have shot at least one of those things down! What the hell is Almasy doing anyway?!"

"Forget Seifer." Quaffed Selphie. "What the hell are _we_ doing?! I already used my idea up."

"Then, why don't we, like, take Seifer's call and shoot those guys out of the sky." Irvine suggested.

"No Irvy! You can't!" Protested Selphie, grabbing onto his shoulder protectively. "At the speed we're going, you'll be blown off."

Irvine liked the sudden attention. _You're really concerned for me. Maybe I do have a chance._ He couldn't help but smile. "Then why don't you just, like, slow this thing down so I can hit them."

"WITH WHAT?!" The whole group was surprised by the loud, intrusive comment. All turned around to see that Fujin had snuck up behind them.

"Were we really so loud as to not hear that elevator?" Wondered Zell.

Fujin continued in her monotonous way. "GALB. NO GUN. REMEMBER?"

"Don't call me Galb!" Irvine shouted. "And yes, I do remember that I lost my gun, thank you very much."

"Besides," Quistis interjected, "we can't slow down with…" she took a quick look at the radar screen to see they no longer had five ships behind them, but four. "Hey, Seifer must have gotten one of them." Suddenly, she had an idea. "Selphie, slow this ship down."

"So we can shoot them?" Wondered the pilot out loud.

"No. Don't you see, Seifer may be a lousy shot, but up close, he's a total menace!"

"So?"

"So, when those people board us, he'll tear them apart."

"I fail to see your logic."

Rinoa saw it. "I get it, use Seifer's rage to our benefit. But what if he doesn't go berserk?"

"We didn't think that he would grab hold of the ship as we neared, but he did. Selphie, slow this damn thing down!"

And her word was done. The Ragnarokk was slowed; even Seifer could tell that the wind was less forceful. But, just as he was ready to shoot down the closing ships, he started to feel light-headed, and Bahamut started to roar inside his head.

"They're closing in!" Announced Zell. It seamed the whole of them held their breath, waiting for the winning numbers on their ticket. They watched silently as the small dots approached them.

_C'mon Seifer._ Quistis prayed anxiously. _Go hog wild._ The little dots closed in on them, and they could hear the sound of cables connecting to them. _C'mon. Do something Almasy!_

Completely at a halt, Quistis led the way down to the catwalk over the hanger. Angelo ran in front and started to bark aggressively in the direction of the air lock, the only place they could be boarded without damaging the ship.

Below, many of the Forest Owls attempted to hide, but some, such as Andy, Red Hawk, and Brix, held out slingshots, and Cody and Seth had daggers.

They all froze as they heard the Estharians jam the air lock open. Each one made a loud clang as they fell onto the metal floor. It took all willpower not for her to draw her weapon, but Quistis didn't want to start any more fights unless the soldiers started shooting first. She motioned behind her to put down any and all weapons. Fujin and Selphie took the hint, but Zell was pretty much stuck in his boxing stance.

The air lock opened, and the first person they saw was not an Estharian soldier, but Seifer with his hands behind his back, and a very goofy grin on his face.

"That was awesome." He remarked before he was shoved onto the catwalk. He fell to the floor and laid there, his hands in cuffs behind his back and his drugged grin still on his face.

_Well, what a surprise._ Quistis scowled. _I expected something of Seifer, and he disappointed me._ Behind him were the four Estharian soldiers.

"Cyborgs." Ellone whispered to Quistis. "They are all machines."

"How can you tell?" She whispered back.

"The blue markings."

"Cyborgs or not!" Zell shouted with enthusiasm. "We can take these metal turkeys! There's only four of them!" Just as he said that, there came a sudden rush of more cyborgs. They filed out from behind the first four, spreading out behind them, and jumping off the catwalk only to aim their guns back up at them. Andy, Red Hawk, Brix, Seth and Cody put down their weapons at first glance of the sheer numbers. Angelo stopped barking and got beside her master protectively, but still growled. Deacon hid behind Irvine, while Bishop backed up.

Raijin came through the security door, wondering why the shooting had stopped. "What did I miss?" He asked in Balambese.

"Hmm," began Ellone, "it's amazing how many of those cyborgs can fit in one of those little ships."

In truth, Quistis had expected a lot worse from the Estharian government.

"In retrospect," she began, "it probably wasn't such a hot idea to depend on Seifer."

"Gee, I could have told you that." Scoffed Zell, whom was sitting beside her, with his hands cuffed behind his back and his neck collared in a metal ring. It had an iridescent green strip running along the length of it from one end of the clasp to the other. They all were cuffed and collared, with an odd metallic teal ball hanging in mid-air between each collar. When nudged, it would wobble like a pebble on water, but when one tried to pull away, it held like an iron link chain. Ellone had said that they were magnets. The chain gang sat at one end of a round table. Before them was that book.

"Why the hell are we here, and the Forest Owl's somewhere else anyway?" Zell demanded, not really aiming his question anywhere. "And why the hell are you here?!" He aimed that question directly at Seifer, who was at the back of the chain gang, separated by Raijin, Fujin, and Selphie.

"Zip it Chicken Wuss!" Snapped Seifer. "I was on a high, okay! The biggest damn high I've ever been on! I could have whipped those cyborgs!"

"Yeah, but you didn't!"

"Like you were helping?!"

"Yeah, I was helping by not getting my ass shoved into a foreign jail!"

"Well, you just can't stay away from foreign jails, now can you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I mean, YOU'RE A JAIL BIRD!!"

"YOU PUT US IN JAIL YOU TOADY!!"

"AT LEAST I'M NOT PUTTING YOU IN THIS ONE!!"

"BUT I BET YOU'D LOVE TO!! WACK JOB!!"

"ZELL! SEIFER!" Quistis shouted. "Knock it off! Or I'm pulling on this magnet!"

"But we'd be pulled too, ya know." Raijin protested weekly.

Quistis wasn't moved. "That's a sacrifice I'm willing too make." She took hold of the little magnetic ball as best she could and pulled. Everyone down the line; Selphie, Fujin and Raijin included, were pulled out of their cold metal seats. "Now, are you going to behave? Or do I have punish the rest of the line by dragging you around the room? I'm pretty sure Selphie would love to help me, isn't that right Selphie?"

"You betcha." She answered happily, getting onto her chair.

"All right then. Do you want to try that again?"

The four people down the line, with the exception of a widely grinning girl with a scary mean fetish, mumbled 'yes Quistis'.

She sat back in her chair. "I should part-time as a babysitter." Began she in a lower tone for Rinoa. "Any fight between a couple of elementary snot-nosed brats would be better then those two."

"Well, look on the bright side." Stated Rinoa. "What if Squall were here?"

She certainly had a point. Imagining it was Squall in that seat and not Zell, Quistis could already feel the sparks flying. For one, there would be more cursing, and Alcauldian had a total of seventy-five derogatory words; eighty-one in Garden, and Squall had a way of turning other words into effective cusses. Eventually, one of them would threaten the other physically, the other would dare same, they would both get up and look threateningly at each other, they would start to run at each other regardless of any tethers, and someone would get hurt.

The large door to the interrogation room had a rounded arch, there was a red boss on the front of it, completely darkened. The door slid open and in came Kiros along with two uniformed guards wielding futuristic rifles of some sort. Irvine found most interest in those rifles. The light behind them was very dim.

All of a sudden, Rinoa felt incredibly more stupid then she had been yelled at for. "Minister Seagil, I'm so sorry." She spoke in Classical Galbadian.

"You should be." He scolded. "Laguna had allotted yoo diplomatic immunity and yoo practically spat in his face! And on top of dat, yoo smuggle tventy tree illegal immigrants past our boarders!"

"I know. Bad call." She admitted without faltering. "I just want to say…I'm ready to pay the price."

As Zell went, he interrupted them. "Are you going to execute us?"

"No, but if yoo vant to die, ve can alvays let yoo go so yoo can become a tret to national security." Kiros stated with a no-nonsense facade. "But de vorst yoo can get is deported."

"And stealing the Ragnarokk isn't a security matter?" Quistis wondered.

Kiros gave her a rather threatening glare, but remained authorative. "Ve've got bigger problems now. I'm sure you've noticed de pover is down."

"I thought it looked a little dim in that kangaroo courtroom." Irvine quipped. "And it also explains the lit candle in the middle of the table."

Kiros continued. "Our security grid is disabled and de palace vas attacked last night." That news came as a surprise to all but Rinoa and Ellone.

Selphie dared to ask. "Who attacked you?"

"Squall."

At hearing that, Seifer stood up, causing Raijin to gag on the pull. "HE'S ALIVE?!"

"He vas ven he attacked." Answered Kiros. "He vas scheduled to be executed at seventeen hundred hours, but he managed to get out of our custody. Hopefully, he died in de desert. A det in de desert vould be a hell of a lot better den vat ve could dish up.

With those words, Rinoa had to stop herself from doing or saying anything else stupid. It was just hard to hear that Squall was dead.

But, Seifer had a way of being insensitive. "Damn, to go through the salt just to die in the sand. He must have a thing for deserts."

"Shove it Seifer!" Shouted Rinoa in Alcauldian. "he's lived where you would die!"

He looked taken aback to be shouted at, but he did not faulter. "As if that's something to be proud of?" He sneered.

"At least he never ran away!"

Before Seifer could add anything, Quistis interjected before everything got out of hand again. "Stick it in your ears, both of you! Seifer! You stop being an insensitive prick! And Rinoa! You stop picking fights!" Just like bickering children, the two started to protest in anger, framing the other for starting the fight. "I don't care who started it! I only care that you both stop it!"

They did stop, but Zell had to put in another word. "I think Seifer was being a stupid, air-headed ass hole."

"Since when did you think Chicken Wuss?!" Seifer quipped.

"Up yours Almasy!" The argument started as another chain reaction. Raijin started to defend Seifer. Selphie defended Zell, which got Quistis trying to get in control of the situation, that got Fujin all worked up, that got Rinoa shouting more abuse, that got Irvine trying to ease things, that got Ellone trying to assert control. In the end, the lot of them were simply shouting at each other.

Kiros gave Estharian orders to one of the guards. Nodding his head, he fired his gun, some kind of photon beam, into the shouting match a couple of times; purposefully missing of course. Everyone stopped simultaneously.

"Now listen up!" Shouted the minister. "I'm already at de end of my rope, so I'm not against haffing dese two behind me shoot yoo! Am I clear!"

All nine of them nodded reluctantly.

"Good. Now our pover grid is cut, our security is nearly none existent. Our citizens are rioting in de street. Our police forces and military are spread tin because of dat. And de attack on de Palace last night crippled out government! And to top it off, missiles vere launched at an unidentified flying object dat ve know is not an asteroid, a meteor, a moon, one of our satellites, a foreign rocket, or any such hoo-haw ve could identify uddervise."

Rinoa made to question if Kiros was referring to **the same** aliens, but the minister put his hand up for silence and continued. "Several military personal found Dr. Odine by de consol dat controls de missiles. He vas, and is, accused of firing dem even dough most of us tink it's all bologna, but ve haff no udder lead. Now, ve don't know vat dese extraterrestrials vill do, so all ve can assume is dat tings vill get hairy here very soon. Ve'd stand a chance if de pover grid vas vorking again, and dat's vere yoo come in.

"Around fourteen hundred hours ve had sent a team into de Vest Gate to analyze de problem. Dey consisted of five people but only von came back. Dat person died shortly after she vas discovered. De only clear ting she said vas 'a svarm of imps in de darkness'. Ve don't know how de imps had gotten in dere, all ve know is: ve need dem out. But ve haff too few monster slayers at hand, and der progress is much to slow.

"Yoo are all looking at definite deportation. But, since yoo did not cause any property damage or loss of life, your offence can be overlooked if yoo agree to assist our team in de Vest Gate."

Those on the other side of the table started at him in a dazed stupor. "What will happen if we don't agree?" Selphie questioned reluctantly.

"Deportation." Answered Kiros.

"And if we agree?"

"Your offence vill be overlooked."

"As well as the others?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes. But dey're going to haff to apply for citizenship. Or else, dey vill be deported."

"I forget," Selphie started absentmindedly, "what will happen if we don't help your monster team?"

With a snort, Kiros got out his twin katal from his belt. "Don't make me use dese."

Irvine leaned over the table and smiled at her. "Y'know, it's probably not a good idea to piss off the only one in the room who's armed."

"Good call." Kiros agreed. He turned to the two guards. "_Urgr hrich._" [Leave us.]

"_Il anchnsmin…_" [But sir…] One of them began to protest, but Kiros stood his ground, and the guards left, still wary of his company.

"Now," he started after the two guards had left, "visual feed from de ships' cameras shows yoo had some 'unexpected' help. Vile I haff an idea vat happened, I need to hear it straight from de horses mout. So tell me, hoo's de udder Echo Host among you?"

"Seifer." Ellone and Rinoa admitted in unison, speaking even before the others realized what Kiros had asked.

"Uh huh, and vich von of yoo is Seifer?"

"WHAT?!" The one in question shouted. "I'm the bastard who commandeered the damn Lunatic Pandora!" If he could have lifted his arms, they would have been waving around frantically. "I was Ultimicia's damn right man! I threw the Galbadians at you! I peed in your water...!"

"I take it you're Seifer."

"And don't you forget it!"

"Say," interrupted Zell, "what's an 'Echo Host'?"

"Echo Hosts carry a bit of code in der genes."

"So they're wererobots? Hey Seifer, you can change into a robot!"

He was not amused. "I'd appreciate it if you would be stupid somewhere else."

"Vell," began Kiros, "an Echo Host is more like…vell, dey're…sorta…Ellone, yoo explain. Yoo've read more about dem den me."

"Hey. I had enough trouble explaining to Rinoa. I'm not doing a second definition on short notice."

"Den Rinoa, yoo explain."

"Me?! I hardly understood what Ellone was saying! How the hell am I to explain it to anyone?!"

"Den be creative."

"Yeah, be creative." Beamed Selphie, sporting a huge, ear-to-ear grin.

"Creative with what?" Rinoa stalled, looking right at her. "I don't even know where I can start."

"Start with the fact that only Echo Hosts can be Sorceresses." Hinted Ellone. "I'm sure the conversation will play itself out."

"YOU!" Fujin shouted. "ECHO HOST TOO?!"

"Apparently." Was all Rinoa could answer.

"Woah, whoah, slow down." Began Quistis. "So, you're saying that only female 'Echo Host' people, can become sorceresses…"

"Who said anything about just females?" Questioned Ellone. "They're probably Sorcerers out there, history has only focused on the woman…"

"Okay, so these hosts are like magic. It has nothing to do with the moon, or sun in Trabian terms…"

"Not at all."

"And that thing with the Guardian Forces that Seifer was so kind to demonstrate. Instead of junctioning to one, it junctions to you."

That was a much better definition to Rinoa. "That was a good way of putting it. Why didn't you explain it like that?" She asked Ellone.

"I never gave it a lot of thought."

"Quistis' 'definition' sounds much too synonymous." Irvine protested. "What was Sis' definition?"

"How you can get one song on a music sheet and a completely different one when played backwards." Answered Rinoa with indifference.

Out of the blue, Fujin shouted her argument. "THIS BLOWS!"

"I concur!" Agreed Seifer. "I just found out of this 'Echo Host'. I deserve to know what I am!"

"Well, if you were paying attention," huffed Quistis, "you would know that we were just talking about GFs and how you can fuse with them. Like what you did with Bahamut…"

"Oh, c'mon. Bahamut hates me…"

"…It also comes with extreme mental powers." Added Rinoa.

"Really. Me like those apples. What sort of mental powers?"

"They're different for everybody."

At that, Seifer's smile soured. "What?! Are you saying I have to find out for myself?!"

"Yeah, you don't want to find out for yourself?"

"I'd prefer a faster way. What sort of 'mental powers' did you have before you became a Sorceress?"

"Haven't a clue. And I still have them, isn't that right Ellone?"

"She's right." Ellone agreed. "And I have a bit of everything."

"Oh, you have a bit of everything." Sneered Seifer. "Prove it!"

"I hardly put any pride in them. These powers can drive you crazy, quite literally."

"She's right Seifer!" Snapped Rinoa. "Those bloody powers will be the death of you."

"Well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there then."

As Kiros sat back and listened to the discussion, he was amazed and stupefied, mainly because most of the conversation was in Alcauldian. He had an Odine circlet with him just in case, and debated whether he should put it on that Seifer fellow. Rinoa debated whether to say anything more about Squall, but she was still bitter about that insensitive remark about him, so she opted to just let Seifer find out the hard way. Ellone said nothing as well, but her reason was simply to protect her 'little brother'.

"So I take it Garden knows nothing about this sweat jewel." Began Seifer smugly.

Suddenly, Irvine had a radical thought. "Hey Quistis, doesn't this sound like something Matron had told us about?"

She took awhile to think about that, but he did have a point. "The full potential of the Guardian Force? Well, if that was just what Seifer had demonstrated, sounds accurate to me."

_Headmaster Cid and Edea know of this too._ Thought Rinoa. _Are they Echo Hosts as well? Well, Edea would have to be. She __**was**__ a Sorceress._

Seifer looked quite displeased to hear that. "You mean the Headmaster knew, and he never said anything?!…"

"Calm down before you blow a fuse, will you!" Shouted Quistis. "That's Zell's job!"

"Yeah! That's my job!"

"It's like a conspiracy." Selphie wondered in awe. "A great big secret was kept from the lot of us for twelve whole years. Or so I'm guessing. Fiercely guarding their knowledge against those who would do terrible deeds with it, even those who would turn on them in fear or greed. Or possibly create more sorceresses…or sorcerers…"

"Is that why Squall killed the Headmaster?" Gabbed Zell with no idea what he was saying. He got some pretty nasty looks from Irvine and Quistis, and some spellbound ones from the rest, excluding Raijin, who hadn't paid attention to anything they had said.

"Who killed who, ya know?"

_Squall killed Headmaster Cid?_ Started Rinoa, eyes wide and glassy with reaching tears. _Why? Is that why he was in that mental institute?_

"Ah HA!" Shouted Seifer, standing up, causing Raijin to gag again. "So that's why he was in that nut house! He finally snapped and took someone down with him!"

Knowing that he was in big trouble with Quistis, Irvine, and possibly Rinoa, Zell's lips wondered quite freely. "Irvine told me!"

"He asked!" He defended on his behalf. A lot of shouting fallowed as everyone tried to deal with the news in various manners. Kiros knew that the conversation would get out of hand again, so he called the guards.

They were separated into three groups of three and thrown into a little cell each with the collars removed. With no power, and no window, the cells were quite dark.

Rinoa, Irvine and Ellone were thrown into one cell. Quistis, Zell and Selphie were thrown into the one next to it. Seifer and his posse were in the cell beside them. They were to remain there at least until they cooled down.

Emergency power was being sucked up fast, so there was nothing left for the mechanical locks on the doors. Four guards were watching the three cells.

"You had to say that." Quistis fumed, sitting by the door to their miniscule box-like cell. "I don't care if you knew, but, to say that was uncalled for."

"What?" Whined Zell, running around the cell and jumping off the walls. "It's the truth isn't it?" Selphie fallowed him with her eyes as he ran up and down the length of the cell…or width, it was hard to tell which. She was given back that book, but she still had no idea what to do or think of it.

"That was a highly sensitive bit of information. You're just damn lucky Squall's not here himself! He'd hang you with your own entrails!"

"Eww! Gross!" Selphie cringed. "Good thing he wears gloves."

In another cell, Rinoa knocked her forehead against the door again and again.

"You know," began Irvine, "in times of great stress, I heard that pacing works better."

"You…!" She glared at him over her shoulder. "Why did you have to tell Zell that? You know he can't keep a secret!"

"Look, it's like this doll. You would have found out sooner of later. Zell just wanted to know sooner or later. And, as you may or may not know, when someone, like, asks me a question, I am inclined, out of good manners, to answer." Giving up her argument before it started, she slumped onto the cell floor.

"Say," began Ellone, "I wonder what happened to the doctor? He wasn't in court with the rest of us."

"We had a doctor with us?" Irvine asked with a curious glare.

In his cell, Seifer paced the darkness. "So that's why they dumped him in there. Not even I would do that. Me! The most radical fighter in the Garden! He must be quite the nut-job then."

"BLACK BLOOD?" Asked Fujin.

"How the hell should I know how he got black blood?!" He stopped quite suddenly at the scuffling of the guards outside their door. Fujin stopped too, though, she had to put her hand over her brother's mouth for him to understand what was going on. The sudden drop in volume next door made obvious that the others heard as well. Since there was no window at all on the cell door, all they could do was hear. There was some shouting for orders, a weapon was drawn from a sheath, and the guards were down before any shots or screams could be made, Seifer could hear the bodies drop. The swift work of a seasoned assassin, but who could it be?

A large knife gouged through the panel on the left of the door, which must have been the lock. The meagre light that struggled through the gap was hardly enough to see it clearly. The door slid open like French patio doors, and Seifer recognized that gunblade immediately.

"I thought you had run away." He snickered quietly, knowing full well that the others were still alive and listening. Dr. Koraks Karrion just glared at him.

Seifer looked down at Raijin and Fujin. "You had your weapons?"

"Pinwheel's collapsible." Remarked Fujin.

"You didn't know I had my staff with me?" Wondered Raijin. Seifer looked back at Koraks.

The doctor just continued to stare, never blinking. "Well Seifer, have I earned your trust? Because I can always leave you here to fend off de dogs."

He thought about that option for a second, but only a second. "Alright Karrion. I'll help you get your damn patient back. But in return, you tell me all about my so-called 'family'. And tell me who made that gunblade of yours."

Koraks did not smile, nor blink.


	16. Double Deal

16

Double Deal

Again, Cardinal was thrown against the Pillar's wall. Those syringe heads could pack a mean punch. If that was how Siphon Thrice Fit fought when she was weak, she'd hate to see her at full power. As soon as the first crystalline syringe lodged itself in Squall's mouth, Cardinal had leapt at it with claws bared. Several more of those syringe heads popped out of the crystal work, batting the Shemoomba away with the force of a really mad mother bear.

Long ago, before she had evolved, she was taught about the very first Sorceress, a record that was rather different then the generally believed Hyne. The first true mage came out of the cosmic portal with the rest of the magic, similar to the story of Hyne, but unlike him, this sorceress had a very chaotic disposition, and was the creator of nothing; just an entity that was there. Cardinal could sense it, even smell it in those syringe heads, nothing of any good, but nothing of any evil; completely neutral; completely chaotic. Siphon Thrice Fit bore an astonishing resemblance to some primordial super being: a theoretical being no less. She didn't know what the syringe head was doing in Squall's mouth, and she honestly didn't want to know, so she tried to get it off of him.

The endeavour was proving quite fruitless. For every syringe head she decapitated, two more took its place. Two smaller heads rammed themselves up his nose, and two in his ears. Two fine edged heads wedged themselves into his eye sockets, four were jabbed into his back, and one snaked up his pants. Cardinal didn't want to know where that one was going. Soon, he looked like a sorry test subject, but that time, there was no hope that Rinoa would come and help them with the returned favour. He had made it look so easy, too.

Her saving grace was that the syringe heads were not at all intent on fighting her, but doing whatever they were doing to Squall. Cardinal didn't know if it would work, but she had to try. She roared as she held her hand high. On her fuzzy palm erected a shining ball of white, which she threw at the ground. The ball flattened and the shine spread, and out of it came the great white crane with the six eyes: Wasis. Extending his wings, the syringe heads were hit with white sparks, but nothing happened. Just as Cardinal had feared, they were not undead.

Knowing he was powerless against his foes, Wasis retreated back to his host. Many of the syringe heads pointed at Cardinal, as if looking at her.

_Uh oh._ She panicked. _This doesn't look good._

First, it was only one head. The syringe split into four, opening like a flower. Inside that mouth were rows and rows of tiny blue teeth, which nearly hid a dimly glowing throat of white. Cyan froth was dripping from that radiating jaw. Then, that syringe head screamed; with a scream that sounded like a thousand screams underwater. Like clock work, those that weren't attached to Squall, screamed as well, those glowing throats shining like a white hot furnace. They probably didn't like the fact a Guardian Force attacked them.

Fast as vipers, the syringe heads snapped at her. When one did manage to pinch her, it felt like she was zapped with a live wire. They had dropped their defensive posture and aimed directly at Cardinal, only those attached to Squall never moved away. Still, she managed to gain some room from the syringe heads. Her palm held out before her, she reached for the essence of those creatures. Oddly, they were made up of the draining spell, the rejuvenating esuna, poison, and some spell she couldn't place. She knew from experience, especially at her age, that an unknown spell could very likely be a mutual Guardian Force: a Guardian Force that wasn't junctioned. Cardinal tried to draw that magic, but failed. It would not respond to her. She took some of the poisonous bio. With a squeak, she cast it right back at the advancing heads. It didn't work well at all.

A tugging sensation, and a wave of blue sparks flying away from her, told her that those syringe heads were doing the exact same thing as she did, drawing magic from her.

Another head screamed, shooting out a bolt of electricity. Cardinal was knocked off her feet. Taking advantage, several more syringe heads grew out of Siphon: one bit into the Shemoomba's ear, three got her hands, and two grabbed her tail. Howling with this sudden pain, Cardinal thrashed about wildly. Not in vain, as she had cut down the two that had got her tail. The syringe heads all screamed in unison.

"**Die!**" Croaked Siphon, her voice seamed to roll down the crystalline halls. From the glittering corridors ran a cat like being: spotted like a cheetah, a head like a tiger, with a white belly, and sporting a pair of whiskers as long as its sleek body. It was a toroma.

The syringe heads parted as the monster came through, heading straight for Cardinal. Two more toromae came from beside to corner her. The creatures snarled and hissed, readying to pounce on her all at once. Completely surrounded and about to be tackled, there was very little option to her. The toroma to her right screeched at her, and all three of them lunged forward. Quickly, Cardinal ducked, and the toromae ended up knocking into each other mid-air.

She couldn't believe how far Esthar could sink. The citizens were running about like they had no heads. Many tried to clamber onto the black and navy military shooter they were in, regaling them with shouts of: "What the hell are you doing?" "You're worthless." and "how could you let this happen?" all in Estharian. But, since Ellone was not with them, there was no way to translate, and just as well.

"Damn," commented Irvine, "and I thought that monster surge caused a riot! What the hell is wrong with these people?"

"That security grid." Quistis concluded. "It wasn't down when that monster wave attacked them. They just forced their way in through the City Gates I suppose. These people don't seam very confident without their power grid."

"But, this'll be gone as soon as we clear those imps. Right?" Asked Selphie, a wavering edge of doubt evident on her voice.

"We just kill the imps!" Cheered Zell. "We can let these guys do the electrical stuff. I'm just glad Seifer and his Good Time Buddies aren't here."

It was on Quistis's mind as well. "That hot head couldn't have picked a better time to run off. I doubt they're going to be offered any form of clemency if they are caught again. And, if he ever wanted a chance of redemption, this would be the perfect time to work for it."

"Redeem what?" Zell huffed. "He's lost my vote a long time ago. If he wants to tick our tocks so bad, he can go to Hell and stay there. Fujin and Raijin are a different story. Don't know why they stay with that bastard?"

Rinoa sat at the end of the bench, still in a troubled mind. She couldn't quite get past the fact that Squall had killed Headmaster Cid. What was his reason for doing so? Did it indirectly have to do with his attack on Prime Minister Laguna? Was it really the Sorceress' curse? The Sorceress caused havoc from beyond the grave...was it possible to control someone when you were already dead? Technically, Ultimicia wasn't even born yet, so that was even harder to think around.

Or, was it really the Sorceress' Curse? Squall had run after Laguna in a berserker's rage. Had he run after the Headmaster the same way? She could only imagine the man walking along the darkened corridors of his Garden, the only sound that of his own footsteps and the trickling from the fish headed fountains. A figure runs out of the shadows. He recognizes the mad man with his gunblade raised over his head. He barely has any time to scream before…

She ran over several different disturbing scenarios like that. But, when her rattled mind attempted to get behind Squall's eyes, she found a persistent block. It was almost like a vial of black and red. What had happened? How did Squall snap? All of a sudden, she wished Ellone were there; she would take her back, or, take her subconscious away as she had described it.

"Quistis." She began. "How exactly did Squall kill the Headmaster?"

"Hey!" Interrupted Irvine. "I thought you didn't want to know in the first place."

"I'm asking a question here! Just drop it!"

He didn't argue. Rinoa was currently being quite aggressive.

Though obliged to answer, Quistis still didn't feel right about it. "Stabbed the Headmaster three times in the back with that pendent of his. Four witnesses. Why do you ask?"

"Because I deserve to know now that _someone_ let the cat out of the bag." She glared at Zell again, making him smile sheepishly as a pathetic attempt to say sorry.

_Stabbed him in the back with an improvised tool._ She thought solemnly. _With four witnesses._ It sounded very sloppy, even to her. She thought again of that accusation against her, and of what Ellone had said. She really hoped that she had possessed Squall somehow. Dr. Odine would have probably known if that was possible or maybe even Edea. As for Ellone, she hoped that it wasn't her explanation; she was far less prepared for something like that.

_Stabbed three times. Four witnesses. Stabbed three times. Four witnesses. Stabbed four times…_It worked as a bizarre mantra; no definite explanation. _Did I tell him to do that subconsciously? Did I tell him to go after Prime Minister Laguna?_

The shooter drove down into an underground parking lot. The gate had to be manually opened by two others. Inside the tunnel was dank, dim, and only lit up with emergency flood lamps. Stopping by a group of others in civilian robes, the five of them jumped out of the back. An excited barking erupted from behind the group of Estharian strangers, and the group was pushed aside as Angelo came running up to Rinoa.

"Angelo!" She greeted happily, grateful to see her faithful pooch. She knelt down to give her a longing bear hug. The dog barked several times as she was held with jubilation. Though, the shelter treated her very well, which only see **real** dogs so rarely. Beside those people were Bishop and Deacon. The little guy really wanted to run up to the familiar faces just as Angelo had, but the elder held him back, motioning for him to salvage the pride.

A member of the group stepped forward. He looked rather young besides his greying hair. The poncho he wore was red with silver trimming.

"I am Salem Hawkshaw. Yoo are se foreigners hoom Minister Seagill has sent, am I correct?" He spoke Classical Galbadian.

Quistis took the initiative. "Yes. We are here to eliminate the imps said to be in the West Gate. I am Quistis Trepe." She shook Salem's hand in greeting and looked down at Rinoa, who was still scratching her dog behind the ear. "This is Rinoa Heartily. Irvine Kinneas. Zell Dincht. And Sel…" Before she finished, Selphie had butted in and grabbed Salem's hand, shaking it madly as she smiled like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Hi, I'm Selphie Tilmitt. Glad to meet you. Love your city. Gosh you're cute. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Selphie!" Quistis snapped, shoving the girl away. "_Sþi sauta vring dvahskr hask bjotti dlin okstatta!_" [We have a policy against flirting with the clientele!]

"She thinks he's cute." Irvine muttered dejectedly. "I suddenly have this tremendous urge to punch something."

Cardinal had managed to down one toroma, but that just meant the other two had less of a chance to butt heads with each other. It was the first time she had ever seen a real toroma, so she wasn't very prepared for how to fight them. One of the toromae used their long whiskers like a catalyst, and created a beam. Anything the beam touched was encased in stone: the pillar wall, the syringe heads…it wasn't a problem for them, though. The stone pealed off of the echo crystals like dead skin, and the other syringe heads just snipped off those effected, which were replaced by new ones anyway. Cardinal would not be so lucky if those beams were to hit her.

The other toroma shot a beam, which arched much longer then the other. Dodging the perilous blast, she ducked behind a petrified boulder. The boulder was so close to the lip of the throat, it was very possible for her to simply jump. The bottom was quite a ways down, not even a Moomba would be able to survive it unscathed. Then, there was no telling if the toromae would fallow her down. Several syringe heads grew out of the lining of the throat, which effectively nulled the idea of jumping. It was the first time Cardinal thought of Siphon Thrice Fit. She was dealing with an omniscient being!

One of the toromae jumped onto the boulder and swiped at the Shemoomba. She tackled the monster, biting into its neck. Miserably howling, the toroma clawed at her. The other toroma jumped in, forcing Cardinal to abandon her hold, but still left it with a bleeding bite wound; she just had to be patient.

She muttered a string of squeaks, grunts, and hisses. On the ground spread a wild network of electrical strings that sparked and flared every time the toromae stepped on it. It looked as if they were dancing, they even reared on their hind legs as they roared and hissed, the flying sparks burning their feet, their bellies, there maws, and even their eyes if the sparks got into them. The network vanished, and the toromae were left to lick their burns. One of them didn't bother to take the time, and shot another one of those beams at her. It hit true. Cardinal was petrified.

Siphon gargled in satisfaction. The two toromae circled the petrified Shemoomba, as if expecting her to do something else.

The syringe heads had largely stayed away, not wanting to get in front of those wild monsters. They finally withdrew from Squall, leaving a trail of bright inky violet behind them. All together, they subsided back into Siphon. It was several silent moments more before Squall sputtered and coughed as he became a bit more conscious.

"_**Kri sala nri gyin rawska.**_" Bellowed Siphon. The deep, croaking noise startled the two toromae, and they ran away, leaving Cardinal's statue behind. "_**Vashyiskidis. Mitakrauchas. Litsa üdvrakk.**_" Those words sunk into his subconscious mind spontaneously. With a constant pink noise in his head, he did not hear the words per say, but the subconscious effect caused him to repeat regardless.

"_Kri sala nri gyin rawska. Vashyiskidis. Mitakrauchas. Litsa üdvrakk._ What, is that you Quistis?" Nearly effortlessly, he stood up, not really knowing he had done so until he took one wobbly step forward. "Goody. I'm standing up." He responded in squeaky sarcasm. His balance was still a bit off, his feet had problems holding his legs still, and he would trip several times as he moved forward. A violet coloured froth dripped from the corners of his mouth, his eyes, his ears, and nose, not posing a very pretty picture, but the texture was cool and smooth, and didn't bother him that much.

"Appalling Pace…"

He stopped moving as the name was uttered, in a high pitched, cracking voice, one that sounded not from in his head, but to his right.

"Appalling Pace."

In the direction of that voice, he limped. His lame leg felt like fibreglass.

"Appalling Pace."

The direction of the voice had changed, it had become to his right once more. The voice seamed to turn him around.

"This way jackass!"

His foot bumped into something as he advanced. Squall felt in front of him. Nothing. He felt a little lower. Nothing. He lowered his hand to about waist high, and then he felt it. It was a cold sheaf like thing, sort of like a stone ear. Kneeling on his protesting right knee, he felt the sinuous stone carvings of each little sheaf behind it. Feeling lower, he felt a sort of feline face in the stone; felt the teeth and the little fangs. He felt the slender stone neck of the statue, and the tiny grooves that were the statue's fur; so masterfully done that they were as fine as real hairs. He felt an arm, then a paw; and then the claws.

"Cardinal?" The Shemoomba had been turned to stone. "What happened?" The creature whom had risked her own hide to save him from the Shumi, who had traveled across the western continent, and the sea, and through the vastness of an alternate world she could not comprehend not alone see, now, had become a lawn ornament. In poor reaction, his stomach decided to host a knife throwing party, and decided to invite the whole gut gang. The dry, rubbery feel came back in his throat, and the back of his neck felt like it had been pinched with sharp-nosed hydraulic tweezers. Neither sensation helped his mind to think properly, they just caused him to gag, wretch, and cringe painfully.

"Cardinal?" He gaped again, the pinching seeming to spread down his spine, with all his strength he arched his back, stopping only when he heard it snap like wicker. Being petrified he knew, was a horrid fate. With your diaphragm constricted, breathing was very difficult. With hardened skin, arteries were pressed, and pressure was actually put on the heart to pump even harder. If the heart didn't go into cardiac arrest, arties would pop. Some of the stone epidermis would sink into orifices, nullifying hearing, and causing a massive headache. Your eyes would feel like they had been stuck with needles, and would continue to feel that way for weeks after a person was softened. It was a horrible way to die.

"She's gone Appalling Pace." Snarled the cackling voice from right beside him.

Squall turned his head around to 'look' at the voice. "Cloak." He sounded dejected, beaten, nearly about to cry.

"Don't waste tears on a corpse." Snapped Cloak. "You shed tears for every death in the world; you'd die yourself of hydration. Besides, it's disgusting."

"She's gone?" He murmured.

"Oh, don't look surprised. You knew it would happen eventually, yet it was your own damn fault you got attached! Fuckn' moron, you are pathetic you know that?!"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. Now c'mon junkie, you have unfinished business to attend to." She commanded harshly.

Squall stood up, giving one last thought of regret before he limped away. He did not use any form of esuna magic, or any scan on Cardinal. He did not check to see if she was still alive.

"Sese gloves are yoors." Stated Salem, grabbing them from an old trunk him and his friends had lugged around. He handed them to Zell.

"Oh, yeah baby! I'm back!" As if testing them, he slammed his knuckles together.

"Relax Zell." Chided Irvine. "You never left."

Salem took out Quistis' chain. "Von chain?" One look at that chain, and he was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of it. It wasn't just a simple belt chain, like one would see in a bicycle, but a vicious, heavy looking industrial chain, tipped with something that certainly wasn't a key charm.

"My chain." Answered Quistis. She was tossed the chain.

"Von pair of nunchucks?"

"Nunchaku." Corrected Selphie. "It's pronounced 'nunchaku'." Salem tossed her the 'nunchaku'.

"And here's yoor map." He held out a convex disk, a glowing red slit was carved down the middle. Salem pressed one of the two buttons on it, and up scrolled a holographic map, most likely an overlay of the West Gate.

"From se information received," explained Salem, pointing to an area on the map, "Se imps are most likely around sis area. Ve lost contact vit our team about an hour ago. Pretty fast considering sis problem had only persisted for less sen a day. I pray to se Veels of Sree say're still alive."

Since no one moved to take the map, Salem gave it to the nearest person: Zell.

"All righty." Beamed Irvine. "Now, how's about getting me a weapon?" His smile faltered as the Estharian's looked quite puzzled.

"Maybe you should ask nicely." Suggested Selphie.

"Can I please have a weapon?"

They still had blank stares.

Quistis helped Irvine out. "I think they're concerned about that implication." She looked back at the Estharian group. "Irvine here is a sniper. But he lost his weapon some time back. Do you think he can borrow one?"

The Estharian's conversed among themselves. "Ve don't haff se asority to do sat." Answered Salem to them all. "Ve're just students."

"Students?!" Shouted Quistis.

"No wonder they all looked quite young." Rinoa whispered to Selphie.

"Your students?" Huffed Quistis again. _Now that I know that, they can't be a day over nineteen or twenty. They're probably only in collage._ "If you don't have the authority to grant any demands, who does?"

"Se military, or se police, I suppose. I don't know vy se Prime Minister isn't here, but I'm guessing it's probably for se same reason."

"And what reason is that?"

Salem looked at his 'classmates', they all shrugged. "Sey can't be bosered to talk to foreigners."

"Can't be bothered?!" Quistis was nigh exasperated. She slapped her palms on her forehead and repeated: "Ay miðul darng Liþra akræ Ilsnæ fra akrin Oskþal…" [Oh dear sweat Holy Time and Creation…]

"So," Rinoa began as Quistis continued to curse, "would you have authority to take off this ring?"

"No."

"Damn." _Got my hopes up._

Quistis nearly knocked her over as she came back with a desperate attitude. "Look. We really need this. You don't have to tell anybody anything. Once this is over, we will leave, and not come back to this continent for at least a year." She had abandoned any respective air for a pleading one.

"I concur," agreed Irvine much more collectively, "you can totally, like, trust us. We killed Ultimicia for you; we can kill these imps. But I had a gun at the time."

_Sis vas se team sat took care of Ultimicia?_ Thought Salem, turning to his classmates for a huddled discussion.

"Sees guys vere se one's hoo took out Ultimicia!" He explained to his friends, in Estharian of course.

"It means nozing." Argued a guy named Torc. "How do ve know zey're telling ze trut?"

"Give it a rest Torc." Another guy to the name of Darius quipped back. "Just because sey are not Estarian, yoo haff to be suspicious. Sey are simple folk from a simpler life, but sey are not stupid. Sey know vat ve can do to sem if sey are lying."

"But I sought ze team hoo vas sent vas Estarian."

"Yeah, if yoo believe se popular media!" Snapped Leukine. "In current history class, ve learned sat se team ver mercenaries from a foreign organization known as SeeD, composed of six individuals of unknown mongrel heritage, couldn't even speak proper Estharian. I know; ve had a test on it."

"Six?" Wondered Salem. He looked back at the foreigners who were arguing something in their native tongue. "I count five."

"My congrats to yoor counting skills." Sneered Leukine.

Another girl, named Erin, looked back at the arguing foreigners as well. "Den dat means de von vit de black hair is de sorceress."

"If sat's se case," Salem explained, "ve definitely shouldn't take off sat ring." The other six looked at him as if to ask what he meant. "She vanted us to take it off." He answered.

"Zen I'd razer give zem ze gun, if zat's ze case." Scoffed Torc.

"But ve'd be expelled for sure if ve help sem beyond vat ve ver told to do." Reminded another girl; Tangen was her name.

"Ve haff more pressing problems?" Snapped Leukine. "But I, for one, am not looking forvard to getting on se bad side of an extraterrestrial race sat could easily incinerate us at a slow and painful pace."

"Yoo've been vatching 'Retribution' again, haven't yoo?" Inquired Salem.

"Yes. Look, se point is, ve'll probably all be better off vit se pover is back on. If ve can give sem an advantage over se imps, I say ve do it. So give sem se damn gun Salem!"

Tangen still argued the point. "But…expulsion!"

They took several more moments in huddled debate, which proved quite unnerving for those that stood behind them and out of the loop.

"Ve discussed se matter." Salem explained in Galbadian, just as soon as their huddle broke. Torc reached into the chest, and pulled out a gun; a slender, black and green coloured contraption, with a thin main barrel, a smaller second barrel on top of that, and two even smaller barrels at the lower sides of the gun. Whatever it was, it had an eyepiece. Torc, himself, handed it to Irvine. It was amazing just to see his expression go from shock and confuse at seeing that weapon, then stupid euphoria when it was placed in his hands, and placed it was, literally. Irvine was so stupefied with euphoria he probably didn't even remember his own name.

"Irvine?" Began Rinoa. "What's your name mate?"

He took a few seconds to think, not loosing that goofy grin or the watery eyes. "Clearence." He replied in a jovial squeak.

She looked over at the Estharian students. "He really appreciates the gesture, but why go with the schpeal that you can't give him a gun, then have one already in that trunk?"

Salem was the first to look anxious, followed by the others who sensed the electricity in the air. "Must be off now. _Kainher_." They ran off pretty fast, with Torc dragging the 'supposedly' empty chest behind him.

As they disappeared. "What the hell was that?" Zell scoffed.

"I..." began Irvine, holding up his new gun like a hard won trophy, "am about to go where no Galbadian has gone before!"

"What did he say?" Selphie chirped, much less angered at Rinoa. "What did he say? What did he say? What did he say?!" She goaded enthusiastically.

"Selphie, he did speak in Galbadian you know." She answered with a scowl. "Tell me Irvine, why did you even bring up your lack of a weapon in the first place?"

"Because I'm a sniper!" He answered with a whine. "I am not complete unless I have a gun in my hand. Unless, of course, my arms are already filled with the feminine warmth of luscious curves." Saying that, he looked specifically at Selphie with a sly sneer.

"Bull honkey." Replied Quistis sourly. "You just want Estharian technology at your fingertips."

"Hey," he defended, "Zell's got some of that technology at his hands!"

"Since when?" Shot Zell.

His obliviousness was not surprising, but Quistis frowned nonetheless. "Forget I inquired anything. Let's just consult our map and get moving."

It was apparent Zell didn't know what she was saying. "Map? What map? We haven't been given a map? Where's our map?" He demanded.

Quistis sighed. "Up your butt and around the corner." She quipped.

"Really? That's an odd place for a map." There was a tugging on his shorts, and he looked down to see Bishop. He held up the map disk he had taken from his pocket. "Well, looky here." Zell took the map, not remembering it a bit, and pressed the a blue button on the side. A hologram map popped up, with a blinking red dot located near the edge. The blinking red dot was, most likely, the current location of their map.

"Cool." Ogled Zell, and everyone gathered around to admire the image as well.

Further away, Tangen would not stop prattling. "Ve're doomed. Ve're doomed. Ve're doomed. Ve're freaking doomed..."

"Is she still bitching?" Leukine whined.

"Let her bitch." Salem dismissed, not sounding happy at all. "If Minister Gatchman finds out about se gun, ve'll be lucky if she kills us."

"Sen vy did yoo give sem sat damn gun?" Questioned Leukine. "Yoo know Gatchman gave sat to us to use against sose psuedobiosingies. Hell, sat gun probably doesn't vork against organic sings anyvay."


	17. The Ride of his Life

**17** **The Ride of His Life**

"Why the hell is this happening?" Squall whined, but no one was there to listen. "Just when I'm tossed a bone, some damn mutt steals it."

"You mean," began Cloak, "some brat singes them off." She sounded like she was right beside him.

"Well, if you're talking about cobwebs; that would work."

"That's what the verse is about! But if it's a bone you want, may I suggest beating the shit out of that mutt before he can get your hard won trophy."

"Hard to beat up fate."

"I'm not talking about fate Dingus! I'm talking about consequence!"

"The two are synonymous."

"DENIAL you idiot!" She shouted, seemingly in his ear.

"You want me to deny that Cardinal is dead?"

"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! Of course you can't deny someone is dead, that's just pathetic. Deny that they even existed!"

"And how the hell am I to do that?!"

"Duh! You've been doing that for about twelve years! Do I have to remind you that the less you feel for someone, the easier it is to deny them?"

Squall stopped; stood still on the spot. Cloak was making a lot of sense; too much sense. He agreed with her completely. His original withdrawal was quite spontaneous, but he came to recognize what it was when he was about seven or eight. A way to deny that fate just kicked him in the balls. It was hard to forget someone you cared about, that you would cry for when they were gone. Feelings were the real enemy; logic was his only true friend. Logic didn't cloud his mind. Logic didn't persuade his decisions for instant gratification. Logic didn't make him look like an idiot when everything was on the line. Logic didn't anchor onto his being, leaving a gaping hole after the feelings were ripped out. If he had felt nothing for Cardinal, he would have never cried.

Fallowing some guttural growling, most likely Cloaks, Squall mindlessly walked over ropy ground of cold crystal to smooth, cold flooring of metal.

_"Squall,_" began Strychnine, _"whats wrong?"_

_Nothing._ Was Squalls answer. He wasn't in the mood to define anything.

_"If it's nothing, then why is it snowing more?"_

_STRYCHNINE!_

She stopped squeaking reluctantly, but obediently. It was the first time he ever snapped at her.

The guttural growling morphed into hissing; which sounded as it was coming from everywhere. In the midst of the hissing sounded whispers: indecipherable whispers, complex whispers, probably not even worth paying attention too. But, they annoyed Squall as they sounded rather accusing in his ears. He drew his hands over his ears to blot out the corrosive mantra, but the act was useless. It wasn't like the sound was external...

Seifer looked down from his perch on a scrambling mob.

"The most technologically advanced people on the planet," he began, "get one lousy black out and they run around like headless chickens, eh."

"Dat's not all dey're worried about." Droned Dr. Raven. "If you haven't seen, unautorized missiles were launched into orbit, and nearly hit dat U.F.O. above us."

Seifer could have hardly cared. "So?"

"So..." Started Raven.

"HOSTILE INTENT." Snapped Fujin in Galbadian.

"Better listen to de lady boy." Quipped the doctor. "She, apparently, has a better imagination den you."

"She has a name quack!" Seifer snapped back. "It's Fujin! And don't call me a boy!"

"Oh, my mistake **boy**." He cooed. "Fujin is silver haired woman wit one eye. Seifer is boy who doesn't wish to be called so."

"Zip it Karrion! I'm not a boy!"

"My my, do I detect a case of denial?"

"Ooh, ooh! I do, ya know." Raijin enthusiastically answered, even though Raven was sarcastic in the first place.

A comeback was hot on his tongue, but Seifer held back with a scowl. _Bastard probably wants to get me committed. Damn, I hate this prick!_ At least he had gotten back their weapons, a sign that he still wanted them to have power, which made him even more suspicious. _The freak is quite capable with his own damn gunblade, so were not around for protection...he's got an alternate motive, I just know it!_ Anxious, he set the blade of Perish over his shoulder. As he stood on the top of some department building, he continued to look down at the riot. They were breaking into the said department store. _See, this is what happens if you get too many people in one place and something goes wrong._

"The clouds." began Fujin, with none of her usual bite, "Seifer, the clouds are turning red."

"No they're not!" He snapped. What sort of metaphor was she reciting? There were plenty of clouds out, but they were all white, and the sun was...elliptical?"

"There has got to be something in this air." He figured. "Its distorting the sun! The clouds probably look red from your angle Fujin." Currently, she was away from Seifer, huddled against what looked like some sort of antennae, and she appeared very rattled.

"Fujin's looking kind of pale, ya know." Commented Raijin.

"No duh! This whole damn city has an irate air of electricity, and I doubt it has to do with gross energy output! Hell, why are we even up here?!" The crowd bellow had gotten pretty restless, and were shattering windows. It seemed that some people were sucked down into the mob; probably trampled. A few beams of light, followed closely by sounds of _bzzzt_, _bzzzt_, _bzzzt_, shot into the crowd, most likely some sort of laser weapon. There was smoke coming from some of the targets, but it was hard to see if anyone went down as they crowd made an excellent canopy.

"Oh, you see," Raven started to explain stoically, "its brutally insane down dere. Plus, I'm getting great reception up here."

"Reception?! What reception?! Did you bring a TV?"

With a rather sly, and curious smile, Dr. Raven procured from his jacket pocket a chain necklace, adorned with a very familiar pendent of a roaring lions silver profile, with its stylized paws narrowing down to the tip in the form of a cross. It looked so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. How many times did he hear that silent roar before he was met with a very large; and much sharpened fang? How many times did he see that mocking glint in its chrome eye before he crowned its capricious master, or got **his** clock cleaned in turn? It still roared, but it did not seem to glint. The pendent had some sort of dark residue in the stylized grooves.

"You swiped that from Leonhart while you were raping him weren't you?" He scowled.

The good doctor was not amused. "Drole. Very drole." He frowned.

"Then you stole it."

"Hardly. I received it from de one who _did_ steel it."

"And you get reception on that thing?"

"Oh, sure." Holding the pendent up, he gave the silvery lion a flick of his finger.

They were in the midst of wandering through the darkened innards of the West Gate when Griever began to shine again, emitting its familiar purple light. Angelo noticed it, and started to bark in reaction, letting everyone know what she found.

"I saw that!" Shouted Selphie, bounding up to Rinoa. "I knew I saw that. Let's see it lassy."

"What? This?" She lifted the fine chain that held Squall's ring. Griever's light was already dying as it was shown. Everyone turned around and stared, making Rinoa a little uncomfortable.

"I wondered what that light was." Began Zell.

Rinoa wasn't too shocked that anyone else saw. "So you noticed. I was wondering if that was so. The thing shines like a damn neon sign."

For awhile, Irvine started, "I just thought it was you working some hocus pocus. So, are you, like, working any hocus pocus?"

"No!" She didn't mean to snap, the question just sounded so pompous. "It does this itself. Haven't a clue how." Come to think of it, every question sounded a bit pompous coming out of Irvine.

"You know, he is on to something." Reasoned Quistis. "The ring is probably reacting to you. It certainly never sparked for Squall."

_But, if that's the case,_ pondered Rinoa. _How and why is it reacting?_

"You sure it isn't sparking for this thing?" Selphie pondered, holding up that black, blue paged book.

"Say," Zell spoke, sort of like a whine, "where did you get that book?"

"I've had it with me the entire time! Haven't you noticed?!"

"No. Have you noticed Irvine?"

He answered not as well. "See, the two of us haven't noticed it."

"Well, I've had it all along!" In spite, she stuck her tongue out at them.

The pendent gave a soft ding as it was struck; Raven put the pendent in his mouth and sucked on it like a lollipop. He withdrew the piece of jewelery with a _shluckk_. The pendent was dripping with his saliva.

"_Lkham ahj, tulas._" [That's gross, ya know.] Cringed Raijin.

"_Ahn ill elses fanam llamino._" [Not to mention freakishly creepy.] Seifer added.

Raven frowned at them both, suspecting he had just been insulted.

Seifer walked over to Fujin, still huddled by the building's lip, refusing to look up at the sky. "Chill Fujin. Damn, I've never seen you so shook up over an optical illusion." From the exact vantage point of her, Seifer looked up to see that the clouds were not red at all. As for the sun, it had taken another angle, a weird illusion, but not something to go to pieces about. Then, there in the distance, far past the outskirts of the enormous city was a single shadow in the horizon. He dismissed it as a bird at first, and did so a second later as the shadow grew, simply assuming the bird was heading towards them. But the shadow continued to grow. What was that thing? Some sort of monster bug? Couldn't have been, it was getting bigger, heading towards them at an insane speed. Was it a dragon? Possibly. There were ruby dragons in the Estharian cliffs, and it did look sort of red. But, it was getting closer, and he saw it wasn't all red.

"_Torisauvr!_" [Fucking Hell!] Swore Seifer as the huge dragon ship dove down on the city, its nose pointed downwards as it shot up the glass highway. Needless to say, the crowds were effectively dispersed: either they ran off, they were shot, or they fell when the Ragnarok's bullets pulverized the translucent road.

"I thought that thing was locked up?!" Seifer shouted over the din. He joined Raijin as he stared out at the renegade ship. Something must have happened to it, it no longer had its fine shine, and its red colour was hidden under what looked like scuff marks, dints, burns and stains of some sort. The Ragnarok soared past them on a very shabby course of destruction; firing bullets and smashing into buildings in a less then graceful manner. It was as if the driver of that thing were blind. At first, it looked to be zooming off, until it turned around at a neat 360 degree turn; right back at them!

"It's heading straight for us, ya know!" Shouted Raijin.

"Yes, I know!" Added Seifer. Both of them dove for cover as the Ragnarok opened fire at them. The barrage barely hit Fujin, who was still out of it, and Dr. Raven had gotten a safe distance, seeming not to care that they were being attacked. As it was leaving, Seifer also beheld that the dome over the cockpit was horribly singed with something; the ship was moving too fast to study though.

He stood up, clutching the small of his back. His spine did not like that sudden dive of his, and was complaining with its trademark whine and scrape. They looked out at the ship as it sped away, only to have it turn right back at them for another round. What was rather disturbing about the ship then was that it zoomed at them completely on its side, as if something was dreadfully wrong with its navigation. Well, it had good aim; Raijin and Seifer were forced to dive for cover once again. The aim was nearly so well, that Seifer had to rethink his earlier assumption that the pilot was blind. Could an Estharian ship, with its high-tech AI go catawampus on its own? The damages on it suggested something had gone wrong.

The Ragnarok flew away, and then turned back on them again! It was obvious that it had a target.

"Everyone, in the building! NOW!" Seifer yelled that command in Balambese, mainly so Raijin would get the hint faster. The big man dragged Dr. Raven into a round portal in the middle of the roof while Seifer collected Fujin.

"C'mon Fujin! The real world needs you to run like hell!" He dragged her away while she still spouted bloody clouds and why she had to be the one to see it. The round portal on the roof was touch activated, that much was easy to figure out. With a tap of his foot, he had thrown Fujin inside and dove in himself just as the spray of bullets passed overhead.

The violent clanking of the bullets pace subsided quickly, leaving them all in quiet and near darkness. Blue emergency lights buzzed to life close to the floor. They were in a round tube-like room, reminiscent of a rounded elevator shaft. The power was off; hence the emergency lights, but Seifer had found the rungs to the shut easily enough.

"Fujin!" He shouted, shaking her by the shoulders. "Inari to Fujin! Snap out of it!"

"It's not going to help." Started Raven, looking down on him like a scolding parent.

"Like you could?" He snapped back.

"She just had a psychotic episode! You're shouting is only making it worse!"

Frustrated at him and Fujin's lack of responsiveness, Seifer stood up with a start and glared at Raven. "Shut up old man! I know what I'm doing!" He turned away angrily and got back to Fujin's predicament. "_Brisþkor vra ðüli._" [Know-it-all doctors.]

Raijin forced the doors open. Darkness lay beyond it, illuminated by a few windows placed up high by the roof. In the shadows, one could make out the well chiselled cameos of the department store signs. Darkened mannequins were inside the display windows of the clothing stores, as well as racks of clothes. There were some shelves to indicate a book store. There was a corner store that had several glass shelves lined up; smaller items were under the glass, probably a candy or a jewellery store. The sunlight streamed down from the windows onto a pretty display of mosaic tile. The patterns they made were symmetrical, and organic; to Raijin, they reminded him of flowers. Each small tile sparkled as if many tiny diamonds were embedded inside them.

Excited, he ran to the closest store to inspect it. Raijin had a hard enough time reading his native tongue, so there was no hope of him understanding what the sign above said, but inside were shelves stacked with bottles, cans, flasks, and packages; probably some sort of apothecary.

"Hey! Lookey what I found, ya know!" He shouted to his comrades with a smile, holding up a glass flask. Removing the stopper, he started to drink the whole bottle contents down.

"Raijin!" Shouted Seifer, running into the shop and knocking the bottle away from with his gunblade. "You don't even know what that is!"

"Sure I do." He defended. "It's a potion, ya know. You can tell by the smell." He took one of the bottles off the shelf and uncorked it. "Smell, ya know." The potion was a handy drug that could stimulate cells, speeding up the healing process of tissue, tend burns, and even knit bone in large enough quantities. As a mercenary, he had made it his mission not to go anywhere without one, unless he was evicted without notice. They came in six different types, and they all smelled good.

"Gimme that!" Snapped Seifer, grabbing the bottle out of Raijin's hand. The body of the bottle had four corners like a square, but the actual sides were tapered near the neck and bottom. The colour of the glass was a bit hard to discern in the faint light. But Seifer took a healthy swig all the same.

"This isn't a potion!" He snapped. "This is an elixir!" The elixir was the grand daddy of all regenerative drugs, second only to the aptly named megalixer, which could grant the same effects with a smaller dose. It not only provided a phenomenal boost of vitality, but even replicated the positive effects of magic that had just diminished. But, elixirs had to be taken in sparing doses, too much in one sitting could cause hallucinations, rapid heart beat, shallow breathing, fever, ether mania (a term used to describe when a good spell of magic goes bad, which could actually lead to a whole host of other problems), and quite possibly death.

Most of the wall in front of him was stocked with elixirs. "This place must be loaded!" Seifer exclaimed. Elixirs weren't easy to get, and weren't cheep to make.

"We should give Fujin some of that stuff, ya know." Suggested Raijin, pointing out to where his sister was crawling out of the elevator shaft. "This stuff'll get her head on straight, ya know." The elixir had a wild dichotomy, a stimulant hallucinogen. It was known for causing battle frenzies and making a cowering person more fight-ready.

"What are you talking about?" The question came from behind, and startled both Raijin and Seifer, whom nearly dropped the bottle.

"Must you act so creepy?!" He hissed at the doctor.

"Yes." Short and point blank. The good doctor simply walked away, out of the shop. As he passed the elevator shaft, Fujin was just crawling out, looking around and still muttering broken phrases and wondering where she was. Could a simple illusion been that bad?

"I don't like that guy, ya know." Whispered Raijin as best he could.

"The feelings mutual." Seifer had to agree with him.

"Want me to beat him good?" He gave a good sound punch to his open palm while smiling.

Admittedly, he did pose a good option. But that Dr. Karrion posed a more interesting proposal, though Seifer considered it irrelevant to another fact: the doctor's gunblade, and his skill. It was interesting; the only gunblade artist he had ever fought was Squall. His old rival was getting old; he needed new territory, and if he got a hold of a decent weapon, he would challenge the shrink, and win. Perish was much too clumsy, that was why the doctor had caught him off guard. Even if he had to force it out of him, he would get Raven to tell him where he got that gunblade, and who was his mentor.

Seifer whispered in Balambese. "Squall's a hard-headed kill-joy, that doesn't mean I haven't gotten use out of him. The shrink may be as loopy as his patients, but if I can use one freak I can use another."

Raijin looked very oblivious.

Seifer tried to explain again. "He used skill to block my gunblade. He used strength to throw you. Those kinds of people should be soldiers, not doctors."

Raijin still looked oblivious.

"I'm goinna milk him for what he knows."

Raijin still looked oblivious.

"Look," Seifer started in frustration, "just don't do anything until I say so. Got that?"

"Yeah, I got that, ya know."

"Good." He walked away, elixir in hand, wondering if Raijin truly understood him. He was nearly to Fujin when the whole floor shook with the power and sound of an engine's powerful roar: the Ragnarok had just zoomed by; clearly visible through the large windows near the ceiling. Startled for that second, remaining still for a few moments to reassure himself that the psycho ship hadn't seen them, he continued towards Fujin. Still on her knees, she continued to mutter a new prophecy: a prophecy of death, genesis, and dismissal. Ignoring it, he forced her to drink the elixir down. She had struggled, slapping away his hands as he grabbed her jaw and slipped the bottle neck to her lips. The bright green liquid dribbled down her throat and mouth, but she swallowed it.

With a long rope in his hand, a four pronged grappling hook trailing on the floor, Raijin came running up to them. "This place has everything!" He then held up his rope. The glint on the braided coils was enough to see that it was of some sort of metal, but it was rather thin. "There's this awesome place with all this fishing stuff, ya know. At least I think its fishing stuff. I saw a rod, a net, and some things that looked like bait, but I found no tackle box ya know, and I couldn't find any hooks. But they had a really big harpoon! And this thing!" He held out his acquired rope, the four pronged hook still laying some feet away.

Seifer had to scoff at his excitement. "Yeah, that's nice Raijin..."

"And it's strong, too, ya know!" He gave a length of the metal rope a hearty snap. "I can bust an ordinary rope with only a few snaps, but this baby holds strong, ya know. Doubt you would be able to break it Seifer."

"Really, we have more pressing problems..."

"Just try it out!" Getting onto one knee, Raijin tied the end of the rope around Seifer's ankle. He gave the knot a few good tugs. He stood up and gave his handy work a once over, then looked at Seifer with a grin of self accomplishment. Although, he was getting a very sour look back.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Seifer questioned mockingly.

Raijin just stood there with his stupid smile. "I dunno."

"If you don't mind," began Dr. Raven, a ways away, down where the halls were nearly black, "we should get to a basement. Dat ship flew too close..."

"And it hasn't come back!" Interrupted Seifer. "You know, just because you have a PhD doesn't make you in anyway superior!" He waved Perish around wildly in defiance.

"Says dis coming from de boy who bet on de Runners."

"I'm not a boy, I...wait, how do you know who I bet on?"

"Because I'm superior, my boy."

Growling in frustration, Seifer decided against fallowing that up. "Fine! I get it! Have it your way! Were the muscle, you're the brain! But I tell you this, and I stick by it, the Ragnarok did not see us; it's gone after some other target. Were safe up here as long as there are no riots!"

An exploding crackle emitted from further way behind him, and a line of seven or so glowing green disks carved up the mall; floors and all. The Ragnarok shot straight by them, ploughing through the mutilated chunks of floor like a battered red shark, followed by showers of tile, brick, metal, merchandise, and electrical sparks in its wake. As it came past, the grappling hook was snagged by the ships retracted arm.

Seifer could only look at the coil as it was being unravelled. "Of course." Still holding onto Perish, he was finally pulled away with a yank, onto the ride of his life.

Dragging behind a psychotic space craft, he was thrown into the side of a building, giving it a knick that no amount of buffing would ever hide. On a dime the ship turned a good three hundred and sixty degrees vertically, effortlessly flinging its trailing passenger. He hit one of the transparent highways, smashing it like glass. The ship flew straight upwards for a good while, then took a steep nose dive, with Seifer pulled along behind, hoping that the ship didn't suddenly decide to crash. It rammed through three of those highways, spraying its hitchhiker with the shards, before it suddenly flew upwards. Seifer was whacked into the side of something metal, and into a motley collection of pipes; which he efficiently busted. With unparalleled agility, the Ragnarok swerved, dived, rose, twisted, turned, and performed a myriad of acrobatic wonders that would have been amazing if it were not for the fact that it was tearing up the city. It certainly didn't look very wondrous if one were being towed behind against their will.

With as much strength as he could muster, Seifer would slash at the connecting rope with Perish, hopeful that the weapon would do something. It was hard to keep his cool and his aim at such a high, fast, awkward, and turbulent position. When Perish did come in contact with the rope, it was no good; the blade still had no edge. All the time it was dragging Seifer through its crash course, the Ragnarok was firing its weapons as if it had no ammo reserves. It fired regular bullets, lasers of both blue, red, and green colour, weird white rays, violet coloured helixes, sparking blue and white balls, red and gold rings, bolts of violet electricity, balls that looked of fire, those glowing green disks, large green darts that would erupt into much smaller darts, and a nasty energy beam of gold and white.

The Ragnarok sped towards another building. Seifer instinctively covered his eyes, but the ship rammed right through it. People screamed as it passed by, kicking up whatever got in its way, and they screamed as Seifer passed by, bumping into everything that got in his way. Just when he thought the ship had displayed all its acrobatic feats, it slid into a vicious tail spin. With the centrifical force, Seifer eventually wound up face first on the windshield of the cockpit. The glass, or whatever material it was, was filthy, grimy, and even more knicked up close. It was spotted with all sorts of odd colours, sort of like a gasoline spot in a puddle. But he could definitely see something moving inside. It wasn't the ship acting haywire, there was a pilot!

He couldn't get any better a look if he tried. The ship had skidded out of its tail spin and back onto a straight path. It performed another barrel roll. Too disoriented to tell, Seifer had to wonder if he had thrown up yet. It was already getting to the point that he couldn't tell the difference between up and down. Another hairpin turn found him slammed through a window. There was a lot of screaming as he was flung into a pillar; which broke on impact, sending down a chain reaction of debris from overhead. He was pulled outside before he had a chance to think about what happened.

How long had the ride lasted? Finally, Esthar had called in the cavalry. Pursued by fourteen squad wings, each started shooting just as maniacally as the madman at the Ragnarok's helm. How Seifer wished he was inside. Maybe Bahamut could help him out again.

_"Not at this speed."_ The dragon dismissed.

_Damn._ He sure hoped the pilots of those smaller squad wings were good shots, or that he was just a lousy target.

The Ragnarok turned onto its back. With a suicide lunge, it flew forward, still on its back. The squad wings were stunned, and two were actually hit. Two crashed into each other, and one nearly slammed into another building. Seifer was ricocheted against numerous buildings and landmarks as the ship twisted, turned, and even crashed through obstacles. He felt very much like a pinball. The remaining squad wings caught up to the ship, trying earnestly to hit it. Out of all the rounds they were firing, they only hit the ship twice. Three of the squad wings were hit by friendly fire.

The army was starting to respond. As a result, they readied fusion cannons, which Laguna had earlier referred to as a thermal cannon, as well as energy cannons, also called buzz cannons. Also, they had issued three comet bolts, smaller military ships used specifically for aerial combat. Though they were small, they were larger than the squad wings, and more heavily armed. They started to open fire, and the Ragnarok took a nice turn at around ninety degrees, and headed down. It rounded nicely past one building, only slightly grazing it, but made a huge dent out of another one it turned around. The pursuing ships, including the comet bolts, were thrown into confusion as their target seemed to vanish. Picking up the Ragnarok again, they fallowed, shooting as they did so.

Another great round of acrobatics, and the fusion cannons started to fire. They had as much luck as their comrades in the air. To his great fortune, they even missed Seifer. The buzz cannons had better luck, for they had gotten the Ragnarok at the hull, but the ship would not stop. In the mass confusion of fire and flight, one comet dart was hit.

Then, the Ragnarok did something extraordinary: it stopped, with a snap of a finger one might add. The high flying pursuers sped on, but one of the squad wings crashed into one of the Ragnarok's engines. Seifer crashed into the ship as well, though not being made of rigid metal and flammable wiring; he did not burst into flames. Instead, he slammed into the back of the right engine covering. He landed on his back, on the top of the engine. Dazed and aching, he threw up, and he didn't stop to wonder where he got the food to do so. Two of his teeth came out with his regurgitated nurishment; quite obviously he had hit that engine cover a bit too hard. His back had not agreed with that ride at all, he was covered with bruises and gashes. The strength from Bahamut probably saved him from the worst of damage: like broken bones. He used the last of his curative reserves, then that was it, he would have to draw more. The most was put into the frail gauze of magic that was already trying desperately to hold his broken spine in place.

Dismissing his healing as good enough, he concentrated on that knot around his foot. Raijin could tie a pretty good knot, and had a good taste for ropes; with all that fun, it didn't even show signs of snapping. With Perish beside him, Seifer decided to try something new. With the tip of the blade, he wedged it in between the rope and his ankle. It was his best attempt to free himself, until the Ragnarok took a sudden lunge into a very hard obstacle; probably another building. Debris from the collision spewed over him, but he continued to work the rope loose. What other option did he have?

As he was doing this, the Ragnarok went into another tailspin, but that time, it was not just horizontal, but a wobbly wheel swerving up, down, and all angles in between, shooting off its guns as it did so. Three squad wings were hit, as well as many more on the ground. Another highway shattered, and many more buildings were riddled with shots of bullets and beams. Seifer was nearly thrown off again, but he managed to get a shaky grip on some rivets.

A glowing halo appeared around the ships main cannon, just before it unleashed a golden beam an anything that was unfortunate to get in front of it. There was a great torrent if screams that came before, and after it hit. Seifer finally got the rope loose and off his ankle, just before the Ragnarok headed off on another freak high speed coarse.

The inertia nearly knocked him off. But he caught the engine, by his claws! With one hand he pulled himself forward. The claws on his feet gave him more stability on the crazy ship. He got to the junction between the two engine covers; where he could haul himself into a better standing position. He finally saw what was happening; finally saw through his mask, with his own bloody red eyes.

_Finally Bahamut._ Scoffed Seifer. _You came._

_"Don't push it."_

He kept his wings tightly furled behind him as he dug his claws into the side of the ship, Perish held firmly in one hand. The going was slow, but he managed to get on top of the ship. He was shot a couple of times by the pursuing team, but as before, they felt as pebbles against his tough scales.

The Ragnarok performed a series of loops and turns, giving Seifer quite a fight to stay on. One of the squad wings got to close, and was smashed, the wreckage bursting in flame. One thing was for sure, the Ragnarok had incredible endurance. If it were not for Bahamut's scales, Seifer himself would have suffered some very bad burns. All of a sudden, the sky behind them was cleared.

_What tha? Cowards! Come back and fight!_

_"They're retreating."_ Interjected the dragon.

_I'm not surprised. They probably took one look at me and realized they had no chance._

_"Don't be so quick to stoke your ego! It will be the death of you, the Sorceress could see it."_

_Sorceress? You mean the Queen of the Harpies? That bitch can't even cook toast without burning it._

_"In an earlier time, I knew a powerful Sorceress that could forget her own name."_

Seifer didn't take anything Bahamut said into consideration. The fact that Rinoa could predict the future was more absurd then winning the lottery grand prize. Though, perhaps the dragon king was onto something. In the absence of the smaller crafts came a larger, more dangerous piece of work. Shining like a ruby, a prow head in the image of a dragon, with finely splayed wings about it, it was the Ragnarok.

_Freakn damn-it-all-to-hell!_ Seifer cursed. _It's the Ragnarok!_ But, if that was so, what ship was he standing on?

The Ragnarok sped fast forward, slamming into the side of the other ship, which would make more sense that it wasn't the Ragnarok. The force was immense, and he was knocked off his feet. Bahamut had the good timing to leave him, and Seifer reverted back to himself. Without the help of the Guardian Force, he fell of his ride.

The two ships raced off into the horizon, as it was the last he saw of them before he fell through a glass skylight.


	18. Fourth Dismissal

**18**

**Fourth Dismissal**

Their trek had lead them into the network of halls and rooms termed as the labs, coined so because a lot of mechanical tests and experimental engineering was tested out there. Selphie had the distinct idea they were in trouble as soon as she smelled it.

"Eww, what smells funky?"

"I smell it, too." Began Irvine, that sinking tone of dread in his voice. "Smells like the fetid stench of death and decay."

"I'd guess as much." Shouted Zell from a darkened corner. "There's blood stains everywhere. Hey, can I get a light over here?!"

Irvine seconded the notion. "Good idea. Could you get that ring of yours to glow again Rinoa?"

"It's not my ring!" She defended harshly. "And it doesn't even give off that much light!"

"It also glows randomly." Added Zell with a snide smile.

"Thank you Zell. Let me just get one of those lanterns going..." It was relatively easier to light a lantern; as long as she had access to her sorcery. Unfortunatly, she had forgotten that she was still wearing that damnable ring, so she improvised with paramagic.

"_Gabus_." [Fire]. It didn't feel at all strange to speak their names again. Fire magic had always been handy since it could be shot forward, or left on the palm of your hand without ill consequence. As soon as the dilapidated hallway was lit up, the entire group gasped. The interior was riddled with huge, long, and thin gouges cutting through the mechanical entrails of pipes, wires, screens, and absolutely everything else, including the scattered bodies littered at their feet. Each one had very clean cuts at bizzare angles.

"So that's what we were tripping over." Started Selphie, indicating the severed bodies.

Zell gave a startled glance over the minced meat. "I didn't think imps could make cuts like this?"

"They can't." Quistis answered meekly, eyes wide and unblinking. Rinoa was feeling pretty much the same, only she had a very good idea what caused the carnage. They had not gotten into the halls via an actual door, but some opening cut into the metal. None of them understood why anyone would wish to weld out a hole in the wall, but Rinoa understood then; Squall had come the same why they were heading out.

It was harder for her to swallow. _Squall did this? All so he could get into the city to kill the Prime Minister?_ Though she could only guess, Cardinal would know for sure who had committed the carnage. Angelo ran ahead of the group and began growling and barking at the door ahead of them. Zell opened that it; only just a crack so he could get his head through. He withdrew his head very fast, and looked very disturbed.

"So," wondered Irvine, "whats on the other side of door number one?"

"Imps." Zell squeaked, trying his best to sound like he hadn't been scared witless.

"Really?" Irvine inquired. He walked up to Zell. "Those are, like, the most quite imps I have ever heard." He poked his head through the door just as Zell had, and withdrew his head with the same look as well.

Deacon became curious, so he stuck his head out the door too. He also looked quite perplexed when he looked back at them, slamming the door quite fast. Bishop didn't like that look.

When neither of the boys spoke, Quistis broke the silence. "Well...?"

They remained dumbstruck. Sighing with exasperation, she looked through the door herself.

"Are they out there?" Selphie asked.

"Oh, they're out there." She withdrew her head and closed the door fast. "They're out there." She repeated.

"Well, of course they're out there." Chirped Selphie. She stepped up to look through the door next. "You just said so yourself." So she looked through the door, and then closed it quickly. She looked just as spell bounded and afraid as the rest. It filled Rinoa with no hope.

"I'm almost afraid to ask..." She began.

Irvine interrupted with a squeaky monotone. "Then don't."

Still, she knew she had to do it; she had to assess the situation. It was certainly something Squall would do. Hesitantly, she walked up, psyching herself for the look through the door. Slowly, she opened it, and her breath hitched somewhere between her vocal cords and her tongue. The whole artificial cavern before her was swarming with the monsters! They were so dense that it was impossible to see the other side, even if there were lights. They were screeching and squawking like mad gulls, and their flapping wings really did sound like thunder. The walls there must have been very sound proof.

Rinoa closed the door quickly, bracing her back against it; anything to help her breath easy. "That's a lot of freakn' imps!"

Quickly, they all huddled together in a circle.

"So," started Zell, "what do we do now Quistis."

"Wha? Me? Since when was I appointed captain?!"

"Face it Quistis," Irvine began calmly enough, "Zell's a berserker, Selphie's flighty, I don't know the first thing about strategy, the Moomba aren't much help, I wouldn't trust Rinoas opinion," he looked apologetically at her, "no offense."

"None taken". She accepted readily.

Irvine continued. "And there is no way were taking orders from a dog."

Deacon started squeaking and moving his hands around, but no human or dog had the faintest idea what he was getting at.

"Taking orders from a dog doesn't sound half bad." Started Selphie.

_"__MUWELLA HJADI!"_ [CRUSH THEM] Shouted someone, or something, in Balambese, though only Rinoa heard it.

"Did you say something Irvine?" She asked.

"Sure." He answered. "I was just prattling on about how Quistis should do all the thinking."

"No." Corrected she. "No, you said _muwella hjadi_, which I hopefully assume are the imps."

Irvine gave that a bit of thought. "Balambese isn't my first language. Sounds more like something Zell would say. What say you Zell?"

"CRUSH EM!" Was his enthusiastic reply. "Man, you must be telepathic or something, because I didn't say anything like that."

It was a plausible explanation, and one Rinoa was very ready to accept. But wait...

"All right!" Shouted Quistis. "As long as were debating who said what. How's about someone say how we can get past those sons of a bitches in one piece! And no, I will not accept vague answers like crush them!" Obviously, she was frustrated, and glaring furiously at Zell. Deacon started to wave his arms about, squeak madly, and dance in front of Quistis, but she wasn't paying much attention.

"Ive got it!" Selphie exclaimed.

"Yes, yes. What have you got?"

"Lets thin their numbers."

That wasn't a good enough answer for her. "Alright, it's a start. How do we do that?" She looked to both her sides, hoping someone would give her an answer." Anyone? I'm open to suggestions here."

That voice sounded in Rinoas head again. _"Hædu!"_ [Holy] That time Rinoa knew it couldn't have been Zell. The voice was much too high, rough, and...right.

"We could use holy magics." Interceded Rinoa, not quite sure of herself.

Quistis was pleased with that much though."Excellent. Does anybody have any significant stores of holy magics?"

"I've got a hand full of them." Irvine stated.

"Not enough." She looked down at Angelo, hoping she would have some answer, but the dog just gave her that tilted stare and a curious whine. The two Moomba tried to decipher what she had said, but came up short. Then, Deacon started squeaking again.

"Maybe he has some holy." Suggested Selphie.

"Hey, wait a minute." Began Zell. "Don't we have some light totn' GF? It was swirling around matron. We drew it, I know we did."

The voice was in Rinoa's head again. _"Need holy?"_

_Well, guess that would be nice._ Rinoa thought, hoping the voice could pick up.

_"Need Alex?"_

_Well, not right now but..._

_"ALEX!_" The shout was loud, as if it really were shouting.

Selphie noticed this. "Rinoa, why are you covering your ears? There's barely a sound here. Really. Still cant hear the imps."

"Huh?" It was then that she realized she had reflexively covered her ears. "Oh, that. Well, my Guardians are talking to me. Are any of your GF's talking to you?"

Looking at everyone else, the lot of their perplexed faces not only said that Selphie didn't hear her Guardian Forces, and no one else did either.

"And I'm relieved, actually." Stated Zell pridefully. He got some evil glances for interrupting a silent moment. "What?" He defended. "I've just always thought that Quezacotl was a talker, that's all." That thought had occurred to Rinoa as well. Though quickly, her attention was divided again.

_"Sorry there. Got here as soon as I could. Bit of a trip it was."_ The voice was quite light and jovial, like a voice one would use to address a good friend. It was her Guardian Force Alexander. It had to be, who else would be Alex?

It was Quistis who had put the two pieces together. She knew well enough that, once junctioned, a GF could not talk. Rinoa had just stated otherwise, Seifer had outright complained about his GF talking to him, and awhile back, just after they had found the body of the late Headmaster Cid, Squall had acted as if he was hearing something talking. If Guardian Forces could talk, why were they only talking to those three people? And why now?

"Rinoa," she began, "what are your GF's saying?" She actually tried not to sound concerned.

Once again, before Rinoa could say any response, she was interrupted by Alexander. _"We should talk more; get to know each other better what say? Always did want to talk to you. Never quite a good time though. Guess it still isn't. Well, all that behind us it probably only matters that I started now. Really, didn't think I'd ever get around that shield, but, better late than never. Common cliché mind you. I really don't prefer to use such over used proverbs, but they are quite tricksy..."_

To Quistis question, she replied: "I don't know. I thought Zell was bad!"

Alexander seemed to have stopped his ranting. _"Well, how rude!"_

_Sorry. But you really talk too much._ She didn't know why she suddenly felt she had to apologize, and to something she thought she had a relationship no more complex then summoning with.

_"So my host is rude then, that it? My, my, bit of a problem there. I'm not a big fan of rude people."_

_Rude?! You're talking till the cows come home!_

_"Wouldn't mind talking with cows. I've always wondered what they had to say. Bet it has something to do with grazing..._" Alexander went on to talk about cows. Leaving Rinoa to wonder what she was doing. She was trapped at a dead end with several others and her GF was talking about walking hamburgers.

"Now what are you doing?" Quistis commended, noting how Rinoa looked like she was in a mental struggle.

"Delegating. I think?"

"Well, while you're, like, delegating," started Irvine, "maybe you can ask it to, like, help us with those damn imps." It was a better start then what she had in mind.

_Alexander!_ She started, breaking his long winded speech about marshes and metaphors. _We need you to help us with these imps._

_"Well, here you go acting all rude again. Guess manners aren't in your code of conduct."_

_Oh, very well. Can you please help us with these imps?_

_"See. Not so bad is it. Proper manners open doors, no matter what the culture. Now, imps can't stand the light. Show me where they are and I'll give them a migraine they wont soon forget."_

_Light? Oh, that's right. Holy magics._ "Quistis." She started. "When I say so, open up this door and Ill let Alexander loose."

"Can that guy even fit in here?" Asked Zell.

'Can any of your GF's fit in here?" Snapped Irvine. "Cause I know Tonberry can."

"Well, I bet with some squeezing, Leviathan could..."

"Shove it, both of you!" Quistis snapped. "Rinoa's got the right idea. Imps are devastated by _Krotrvaxi_. Large GF's have fit into small places before, they can do it again."

"Fine, fine." Growled Irvine. "Go ahead and chew me up because of one stupid question why don't you." They all turned to face the door and Zell put his hand in the door handle.

_Get ready Alexander._ Rinoa warned. _As soon as that door opens, come out shooting._

It took a good effort to move that one door further, probably because something was blocking it. Bishop chipped in, and it seemed to Rinoa that he was doing most of the work. To help the effort, Selphie set the book down in the corner, careful to not get it covered in blood. While that was being done Rinoa was waiting on summoning; feeling Alexanders holy light tingle as he worked his way up. The whites of her eyes started to shine with more white, a sign of the Guardian Forces power welling up. As soon as the door was open but a foot the imps started to converge. Their squalor was as damning as it was raucous. Several little clawed fingers squeezed in; blindingly scratching at anything they could touch. Angelo barked, growled, and snapped at them, managing to bite several fingers, their unfortunate owners screeching in agony. As the gap widened, they started to squeeze their heads through, eyes bulging, teeth gnashing, and arms getting a better range. Deacon lunged at several, slashing at their faces with his great paws. He squeaked, drawing much needed magic from the monsters pools. The imps though, started to fling their own magic. Hissing, they hit Deacon with a chilling spell, with great crystals of ice forming around him then shattering, leaving the Moomba numb and dazed; such was the effect of a Blizzaga. Two more were shot. One hit Rinoa, but Alexander still held strong. The other hit Bishop, the closest to them.

"Quistis!" Zell shouted. "They're throwing magic at us!"

"I'm aware of that Zell!"

One imp crawled halfway through the door. As Angelo dove at it to rip its face off, the imp slashed at her, hitting her in the nose.

A mighty spell of Firaga was thrown at Zell, throwing him off his task.

"Rinoa...!" Shouted Irvine, noticing how Zell was smoking after the hit.

"Just keep going!" Alexander was up; all that was left was the best moment to shoot. Thankfully the imps were much too packed together to flood the little hall, but they were fast nudging inside. They tore at Bishop's ear and arm. Angelo still barked at them, but retreated behind Rinoa. She continued to bark at them from behind what she assumed was a safe place.

With a heave and some pained grunts, the door was flung open. Then finally, a single imp wiggled out of the purple swarm. Several more were fallowing, and Rinoa panicked. Alexander was released in a flurry without warning. Quistis had been right: he could fit in there. The mechanical walls behind her twisted, bulged, and shone with a bright white mist. Behind that frame of light was exposed the rugged peaks of the GF's reality. And there, situated on the tallest peak, was a great behemoth of a machine; decked with armoured plates and hissing with steam. He lifted up two huge rocket launchers hiding on his shoulders, and fired missiles of purity and light.

As was suggested, the little imp that got free was devastated by the blast, as well as those close to it, and those directly behind. The missiles swathed a mighty path through the imp swarm, ending only at the metal wall on the other side. Unfortunately, that was all it hit. The area Alexander had was much too puny to cause any sufficient damage. That being the case, as soon as the stream of light was ended, the swarm of imps started to seal in the gap once more.

"Close the damn door!" Barked Rinoa. That order was fallowed with unanimous agreement. It closed much faster and smoother, what with the pulp filling the track well worked. The door was slammed just as a couple of imps were coming through. Their heads barely got through, and were quite pinched. One of them unleashed a spell of thundaga, squarely hitting Rinoa, and the other unleashed some heavy fire that hit Zell again.

Selphie screamed as soon as she saw the wedged imps.

"Get those damn things back in there!" Quistis shouted. Zell punched one of them, but not without it biting him on the knuckles first. The monster screeched as it broke both fangs on his metal knuckles. Irvine got the second one away by pushing it back with the butt of his new gun. The girls and Moomba got the door closed the rest of the way.

With the door closed, the group collapsed in a fit of wheezing and panting. Selphie sat down, but got up just as soon as she felt the cold blood and gore that still matted the floor. Zell sat down, but didn't mind the mess.

"So," Quistis started, between her panting, "are we ready to try that again?"

The group vote was no: both spoken, growled, and in Angelos case, whined.

* * *

Head spinning, and with that woozy feeling that came soon after Bahamut left, Seifer pulled himself up.

_This is why you should pay for tickets to get on a ride like that. Or at least a liability waver._ He looked up at the shattered skylight; it was a long way up. He picked up one of the many books he fell on; they looked more like thick manuscripts then published books.

_Well, isn't this a first._ He thought, tossing a manual aside. _Saved by books._ As he looked closer, he noticed how odd the manuals were. In Esthar, he expected them to be written in Estharian, but they were all in Classical Galbadian. _Must be a new stock._ The oddities grew more interesting as he read the titles on them.

_The Moon and Its Influence_, _The Other side, and Why it Should be Feared_, _The Secrets of Infinity_, _Pagan Religious and What they Did Right_, _Ethereal Codex_, _Formulae of Magic_, _The Scourge in the Stars_, _The Hidden Message of Modern Religion_, _Genesis of Magic and the Sorceress_, _The Rift of Balamb_... All those books had one definite thing in common besides the language. The author was Myriad Adel Oz.

_Myriad Adel Oz...? Sorceress Adel?!_ He never pictured that woman as an author. There were other books around, but they were not of that particular author. But one of Adel's books looked very interesting: _The Nature, Genesis, Purpose, and Whatnot of the Echo Hosts._

_Maybe this will explain things where Rinoa couldn't. Like, what the hell can I possibly do that sets me apart from the rest of humanity?_ Inside it looked more like a manual then from outside. The font was a basic type one would find on a computer or typewriter. The first page was composed of a table of contents, but the adjacent page numbers were aligned oddly; not exactly in a neat column. There was a lot of tripe that he wasn't interested in, or didn't know.

_What sort of crap is this? Adel may have written a lot of books, but she has a problem with putting things in order. The introduction should be at the beginning!_

Apparently, what he wanted was near the back, listed as a summery.

_Good enough._ The rest of the book probably got into more detail. So he flipped over to the back. As soon as he was into it he noticed how the formatting was just as odd as the contents numbers. He knew that in Galbadia, they started from the top left, and read the rows from left end to right, yet the rows of words read as zigzag down the page; alternating from left-right to right-left. It made reading a bit slow at certain times, what with some rows written backwards. What he got was this:

**Cognition:**  
-The ability to enter ones conscious into another's subconscious.  
-Very easy to handle, but can be easily countered.  
**Depression:**  
-Self explanatory.  
-Can become rather similar to Turrets, but is much more complex and is very hard to backfire.  
**Empathy:**  
-Also known as Phantom Pain.  
-Will cause the target to feel a sensation that is not happening, ie: itching.  
-Powerful enough, Empathy can kill.  
**Extra Sensory Perception:**  
-A complex ability to sense their surroundings without using any of the five senses.  
-A particularly powerful user of ESP may even be able to predict the future.  
-Cannot be countered.  
**Hypnosis:**  
-The ability to evict the presence of a target and replace it with your own.  
-Strength of this ability is not only determined by the individual, but the target ie: a target with chronic depression is harder to hypnotize then one who is currently healthy.  
-Found to be rather helpful, as it cannot backfire.  
-Hypnosis can be easily countered.  
**Regression:**  
-The ability to affect a targets maturity.  
-Powerful enough, it can affect wisdom.  
-Rarely permanent.  
**Suppression:**  
-An ability that can hold a targets mental state in limbo.  
-Target may exhibit strange behaviour.  
**Telekinesis:**  
-The ability to manipulate objects with your own mind.  
-Objects rank primary, self manipulation rates secondary; heat manipulation rates third, sound manipulation rates fourth, and light manipulation rates fifth.  
-Telekinesis is easily countered, especially by other telekinetic abilities.  
-It is a basic process at the first level, but can become very difficult as you progress higher.  
**Telepathy:**  
-Telepathy is very two faced.  
-There are two types of telepathists: verbal, and visual.  
-Verbal is most common.  
-At same level, verbal telepathy is easiest to control, but has a much smaller range, and can be easily conflicted. Whereas visual telepathy is difficult, but is much more blatant, and has a much greater range.  
-Ability to use visual telepathy is the mark of a strong and potentially dangerous telepathist.  
**Turrets:**  
-Also known as Termination or Auto counter.  
-Can switch off the survival mechanism of the target.  
-Very basic, but highly effective.  
-Is very hard to counter, but can backfire easily.  
-Turrets is greatly feared for a reason.

Seifer didn't understand half of that. Out of all the classes they had in Garden, they didn't have psychology. Not his problem, as it was one less class he had to worry about skipping out of. Oh, who was he kidding? Even if he had taken psychology he wouldn't have been able to pay attention.

Impatiently he tossed the manuscript aside, rubbing his face in his hands with frustration. What was the point in all that psychology crap? Deep down, he believed that all that mental mumbo jumbo was just an excuse for those too cheap to look into real treatments. For all he know that Dr. Karrion was just some quack who put a name to Squalls behaviour just so he could get his big, fat, paycheque from Garden.

He got up, his trick back giving a crack as it attempted to settle back. Seifer winced at the jolt of pain. Honestly, he felt very lucky the fall hadn't kicked his back out completely.

A cold feeling came over him suddenly; that cold sensation he got when someone was watching him. To his left, out the corner of his eye, that feeling proved true once more. Seifer turned around to face none other than Squall. He was sitting on a black easy chair that hid much of him, probably because he was wearing black, though he could see the ruff of that fur collar, it was ticked with red. Aesthetically, he looked much better then when he had last seen him: his hair and skin looked much healthier, and he still had that normal glare of his. Seifer could see his hands: the nails on them looked a little longer then what he recalled. Besides all that, there was something about him that was rather...unsettling, but Seifer couldn't put his finger on it quite then.

"When the hell did you get here Rat Boy?!" He barked. Squall made no reaction. Seifer had to admit, that made him a bit uneasy. Quickly, he bent down and grabbed Perish. Squall made no reaction to that as well.

"You're certainly being silent." He sneered. "Thought you would make your move right now. Oh wait, you aren't even armed." Squall made no reaction.

"Can the silent treatment Leonhart. I know why you're here." Sneering, Seifer raised Perish. The gunblade proved too heavy to preferably keep in one hand, so he held it with both hands. It sure felt different, but not that much lighter. Squall made no reaction.

"What's the matter? You scared now?" Squall made no reaction, even as the point of Perish was aimed at him.

Seifer grew angry. "Dammit Leonhart! Don't think I won't use this! I've scarred you before, I can scar you again!" Squall continued to stare at him. Finally though, he gave a small reaction. He started to whistle. Seifer stood in awe at him; he had never seen Squall whistle before. It was enough for him to drop his gunblade slightly. Then he noticed it; the reason that Squall looked so unsettling. He cast no shadow!

_Keep your eye on the birdie._

Not knowing how but realizing the ruse, Seifer turned around quickly, just in time to block a rather fierce hit. He was thrown to the ground, with Perish in front of him, holding at bay some sort of two pronged live wire. The electrical energy that thing was giving off was enormous, and Seifer could feel the heat on his face. Above him was Squall. Not the decoy one, but the one he remembered; the sickly looking Squall. He stared at him with his distorted blind eyes, his tongue was dangling out of his mouth, and it was turning blue. The crackling live wire was glowing bright blue, revealing his grey skin, it was glistening with sweat.

"So there you are." Seifer grunted. "Karrion was right, you are alive." He pushed Squall off of him, and he fell onto his front, onto the manuscripts. Seifer got to his feet in no time, but his attacker appeared to be having a bit more trouble getting up. It was a shameful sight, but Seifer found himself sneering; giving a snide scoff. He saw that Squall was dressed all in black, wearing a very large short sleeved shirt, and a bottom that was either a black skirt or a really baggy pair of pants.

"Don't know how you pulled it off Rat Boy." He began, walking around him like a stalking predator. "That decoy was pretty damn convincing. You must be loving this Estharian tech." He stepped up right in front of him, his foot nearly right under his face. Seifer laughed at the thought that he would not see his foot as he would bring it up to kick him in the chin.

He wanted to get in a few more words before he did though. "What were you thinking Rat Boy? You can't even get up and you attacked me?"

"Damn straight." Squall gargled, then jabbed the live wire just above his ankle.

The current was instant, and Seifer felt all his muscles tense up completely. There was a surging heat that ran up from his foot to his head. So cramped his muscles were, they ached; they ached something fierce on top of the racing white heat, much so that Seifer would have screamed if his entire body wasn't frozen in place. All he did was spasm.

Squall finally withdrew the live wire, and Seifer collapsed into a heaving, slightly convulsing riddled heap. Instantly probing his mind, Squall chuckled at the agony Seifer was going through.

"It hurts, doesn't it?!" He cackled. "I know! But if you think that hurt, just wait until I jab this amp rod at your chest!"

Seifer had heard what he had said, but still couldn't do much. His muscles were still quite tense, his body felt quite numb, and he still wasn't quite finished with his spasms. Fortunate for him was that Squall was still having some trouble getting up. By the time he had managed that task, Seifer had gained much more control of his own body, though he was still shaking a bit, and he still had a numb feeling all over his body, especially in his left foot.

Quickly, he dove for Perish; swinging it at that live wire weapon of his. At a frontal glance, that wand looked like it was made over several small rods. That time, Squall fell on his back. Seifer laughed out loud. It had been hard enough for him to get onto his feet when he was on his stomach, how would he manage on his back?

"You're out of luck boy!" Seifer chuckled. "And I'm not going to make the same mistake as before!"

Squall lay there, breathing rather hard. Seifer walked right up beside him and kicked him hard in his nuked side. His tender burn amplified the jabbing foot. He screamed; a sound that swelled Seifer's pride.

"How do like that, huh?!" He jibbed.

If his eyes could see, Squall would probably been scowling at him. "I didn't like it AT ALL!" Holding up his hand held live wire, it extended into a staff. Seifer nearly fell over trying to get out of its reach. Effectively, Squall used the staff to get up. As a brace, he used it to stand up. The sides of the staff started to crackle with electricity as well as the tips.

"I'll kill you Seifer!" He shouted, twirling that staff around him. Staff handling was a standard class in Garden; mandatory for junior classmen the first year of training. Seifer took that class once and was done with it. Squall took it until he was fourteen, so he knew how to handle a it.

Unable to see his target, he would walk forward slowly, twirling the staff. Effortlessly, his hands found the handle of the weapon each time; avoiding the charged sides. At first, Seifer was aiming to get Squall from behind, but was thwarted by the staff. He didn't know much about electricity other then it powered a TV and other such appliences. He wanted to hit low, but his head was in danger of getting hit with the live end. He wanted to land a high blow, particularly at Squall's head, but scratched that idea because that would mean he would have to get closer; within the range of that staff! There was an indefinite patter emerging; one that strictly stated that Seifer could not get close enough without getting zapped.

_He's playing his hand good._ He thought. _He damn well knows I ace the mêlée bracket and he's forcing me to a distance, hoping I'll mess up._

"You won't have me Almasy!" Squall screeched again, turning around sharply in Seifer's general direction. By general, what was meant was **right** towards him.

_How the hell is he doing that? I'm not making a sound! And he certainly can't smell me._ And Seifer was grateful since he hadn't bathed in awhile.

"Stay away from me, or DIE!" Squall accentuated that statement by jabbing the staff directly at Seifer's face. He didn't know how a blind guy's aim was so perfect, especially when Squall was known to be a piss poor shot, but he weaved away, just as the staff nearly grazed his nose. The electricity licked the tip, causing it to sting quite horribly. Squall made another swing, but Seifer dodged him easily. Unfortunately, the many paper manuscripts behind him were not so lucky, and they combusted on contact.

_Oh terrific Rat Boy! Now there's a damn fire!_ The place was dry as a museum fossil. There were other manuscripts in the place, separated into piles a few feet apart. Still, the sparks were flying, and another pile was already aflame.

Squall didn't seem to be concerned about the indoor wildfire. "I've fought in burning buildings before! I can do it again!"

_And you fought in a burning building before me?! That's it! You're going down!_ Seifer was loathe to admit it, but Perish alone wouldn't get through his defenses. He grabbed an untouched manuscript and heaved it at Squall. It only hit his shoulder, but it made him stumble enough. Seifer smiled, and threw a few more at him. The manuscripts were big, and Squall was frail enough to be knocked down. With his opponent down, he raised Perish and began to charge, but he forgot one thing more...

_"Skraþsvrid!"_ [Blizzaga!]. Seifer was successfully frozen.

Squall took his sweet time getting up. All the while, he laughed in time with the cackling flames. Loving at how overconfident Seifer had been. He could hide a spell on him and use it to his best advantage. He could stock magic, but he never considered someone else using magic. Whenever someone would use magic on him he would call it a cheap shot.

"It's not my fault you're a poor strategist!" He scoffed as he stood up. He didn't need eyes to know where his target was. Even standing perfectly still, Seifer was always loud, and over the years Squall had become rather sensitive to his annoying breathing habits. The frosty fog from the spell currently was giving him away. A normal SeeD would be strong enough to struggle through that ice, but Seifer had always had such awful repore with magic.

_There's another reason you didn't make SeeD. Look into it._

_"Look into your time limit Numbnuts!"_ Cloak screeched. _"He'll get out of there. Then you're royally fucked!"_

That was right. Seifer was after him, it was the only explanation for why he didn't kill him back in Timber; of why he had found him at the institute, making up that stupid story about a reward. He wanted him alive. Seifer wanted power, he had always wanted power, and with the high of his Sorceress gone, he needed another patsy.

Squall gripped the amp rod tightly. The rod he had gotten on a ship; a ship that had been stuck inside Syphon's gut for far too long. That ship had been full of small arms like the amp rod. How did he know of what the rod was? It was Shumi in origin, and the ghostly whispers of _T'nikupi_ were still flowing through his veins.

With the amp rod aimed forward, Squall thrust it into the ice.


	19. Telepathy

**19** **Telepathy**

Minister Phyllis Gatchman walked down the bleak, white corridors of the prison, with only the great windows near the roof as any source of light. Down a few flights of stairs and through a high security pass she went. The way before her was lit with lanterns. There was a door; guarded by two cyborgs. Stepping up to them she held up a badge of parliament and a code. The cyborgs recognized the badge and the code, so moved away to let her through the door. Inside was a wall to wall desk with a sheer screen of glass behind it, normally the glass would display statistics and graphs of whatnot in the prison, but no power meant no show, but there was someone sitting behind that glass.

"Enjoying your incarceration Odine?" She teased.

Dr. Odine perked up at her voice. "Minister Gatchman? I didn't zink yood come back after...I zought...I'm sorry about ze sorceress, it von't happen again".

Phyllis' teasing smile faltered permanently. "No need to patronize me." She sat down on one of the few chairs provided in the room. "But if yoo're still sorry about se sorceress, yoo don't haff to be for long."

"Yoo've found ze sorceress?"

"Hardly, but I haff a good lead. She came here vit a contingency of illegal immigrants."

"Yoo got ze immigrants to talk?"

"It vasn't hard. Show anybody compassion and vit and zey're clay in yoor hands."

"So?"

"She's gone vit a small group of Balambese SeeD into se Vest Gate. A bunch of imps showed up zeir and she's gone to kill ze lot of zem."

"So vat vould yoo need me for?" He was greatly afraid of the answer.

* * *

The amp rod chipped away the ice bit by bit. If it wasn't the electricity that was sculpting the ice, the heat was melting it. Squall continued to gouge the ice, aiming for the soft and conducting centre, heedless of the growing flames.

_I'll kill him. Then I'll be free. I won't have to put up with you, your damn ego, and your bullshit anymore!_ Cloak laughed behind him, throwing around delusions of persecution and paranoia. With each pick of the rod; with the increasing heat, the wall of ice that trapped Seifer was thinning: he was starting to break free. But Squall didn't notice; he was too excited, too anxious. He ginned wickedly at the thought of no Seifer behind him, bullying him to move when he wanted to stay put, pressuring him to perform a pointless fight only to inflate his inflamed ego. He didn't notice how the heat was getting to him; how the smoke was getting into his lungs. Before he knew what was happening, he collapsed into a coughing fit. Unable to grip the rods active button, the electrical stream turned off. Still, he would not give up. In vain he tried to get up, but there simply was no more strength, he collapsed from the exhaustion.

In the ice a huge crack formed, then shattered. Seifer was free, but disoriented. First came was the roaring of blood in his ears, then the roaring of fire. When his brain settled to his current predicament he witnessed a grand inferno around him, and before his feet lay Squall, unconscious. He probably would have enjoyed the sight more if he hadn't started coughing as well. Being wet, the heat wasn't yet getting to him, but the smoke was. He could have just let Squall lie there; let the fire finish him off if he wasn't already asphyxiated. That crazy doctor still wanted him though, and he stood to lose nothing by handing him in, and possibly something to gain if the doctor kept his word. He slung Squall over his shoulders, finding him quite light. That electrical staff of his lay on the ground, in curiosity, Seifer picked it up. Vaguely, he wondered how to turn it on, but that would have to wait.

The fire raged vigorously around him, and he was seriously wondering if he could find a way out. The heat was drying him up fast, and the smoke was quite thick. In the midst of a coughing fit, Seifer got down on his knees, he would have to crawl his way out, burden or not.

Weakening, a beam fell down, nearly hitting him. There didn't seem to be an exit in sight. Then, he spotted it. It was a simple door, probably an emergency exit if he was lucky. Guess what, he wasn't that lucky. Though a door it was, it would not open. Turning the knob wasn't working, bashing it with his shoulder wasn't working; he was weakened from the intrusive smoke. Speaking of which, he wasn't done his coughing. He was dry then, and the heat was getting to him. Struggling to keep his consciousness then, he failed, kneeling before the door in a fresh coughing fit. Filled with the sound of thundering flames, the banging on the other side of the door didn't register to him. As he blacked out, he only slightly made out the door flying open, a set of feet in front of him.

Next thing he knew; was a splash of cold water on his face. He was up with a start, sputtering and spitting out any water that got in his mouth.

"Fuckn hell...?" Were the first words he spoke. He calmed down after a quick survey of his surroundings. There were seven people before him, and he knew most of them. In front of him was the gangly Yagi, or Yuri, he got those two mixed up, though he did have a scabbard holding a slender blade. Holding the axe was Kord, and the nunchaku holder was Yuri, or Yagi. There was no way he could have mistaken Sindri: the archer, the best shooter garden had to offer, and as skinny as a celery stalk. Then there was Nida, probably the only SeeD in the group. He held what Seifer never thought he'd ever see: a weapon, a white pike. There was another boy with a bad haircut that had a whip tied around his waist like a sash, probably a Galbadian refugee student. The other had seven javelins, and was probably one of those refugee students as well. Six of them, not including Nida, had a colourful horn sticking out of their foreheads.

"This your first mission Nida?" Seifer asked him cheekily.

"I hardly think you're in any position to..." He began, but was stopped by realization, "you got my name right!"

"I did? Well wasn't that lucky."

Kord spoke up next. "You're not an easy person to find Seifer."

"Yeah," started Yuri, "we tried phone books, obituaries, government files, word of mouth, psychics; eventually I tried to reach you, but even that was hard."

Seifer snorted at the thought. "'Course not? A little piece of turkey jerky like you couldn't find a bird in an aviary."

"Duely noted." Yuri quipped with just as much sarcasm.

Still a bit wobbly, Seifer got to his feet. A wave of dizziness rocked him, but he braced himself momentarily against the wall. Then it hit him: a toxic stench that brought him back to the glue factory. Someone must have been cooking up some industrial strength adhesive.

"God," he started, covering his nose, "how many horses had to die to concoct that foul crap you're cooking up?"

"You get used to it." Yagi reassured. "Just don't breathe in too deeply or it'll make you high."

"Used to it? How long have you been getting used to it?"

"For a couple hours now..."

"Yeah, you've been out for awhile." Kord added.

_Out for awhile, eh._ "So what is that damn smell?"

"Squall." Answered Nida.

The irony nearly made Seifer laugh. "Squall! You brought him here, too?" He didn't know what was funnier: saving the guy that was quite ready to kill him, or keeping a guy that smelled like a chemical spill.

"Well, we couldn't let him burn..." Sindri whined sympathetically.

"Speak for yourself." Retorted Kord. That bastard go to hell and stay there."

"Will you shut up about that already!" Snapped Nida. Sighing with frustration, he turned back to Seifer. "Look, we know you aided Time Compression, and we know you saw the six that crossed eons instantly."

"Wrong guess Fly Boy." Sneered Seifer. "I did see the six that crossed the eons, but there was no Time Compression."

"Really? Because my sources say otherwise. This dimension is fine, but that little bout of time magic created a knot in the fabric of physics. And you know that that means..."

_Is this boob for real?_ "Do I look like a physics professor?"

"He's got you there man." Sided Sindri. Nida elbowed him in the stomach, **hard**, for that remark.

"Then let me explain this to you primate." He scowled. "And I'll use small words so your inferior mind can understand..." He was pretty angry, Seifer had never seen that side of Nida before. He barely knew him in the first place; so why was he so surprised?

"The Laws of Physics are called laws for a reason." Nida began, sounding rather pompous. "Sure, you may not know the laws in and out, but a certain few are quite explanatory. Time, for instance, always marches in one direction, notably forward. Keeping it still is pushing it, getting it to flow backwards is blasphemous, and side to side is just ridiculous, but smashing each point together into all dimensions is downright impossible. But when the impossible is achieved, the result is a virus we call a Wayward."

"We? And who the hell are We? And what the hell's a Wayward anyway?"

"**We** are the reason you're alive at all." Bragged Nida. "You owe me more then you know!"

"I owe you nothing!"

"We were the ones who orchestrated your birth...!"

"Don't you mean growth?" Seifer snapped. Perish in hand, he swung the tip to meet Nida's gullet. The move shocked and utterly terrified him; he had been careless enough to arouse Seifer's temper. "I take it you are those damn embryo farmers Karrion spoke of. Do you find some sick pleasure in growing babies from tubes, or do you need a fresh crop of guinea pigs?"

Looking intently at the gunblade and the wielder, Nida motioned to his rag-tag crew. "Go see to Leonhart." He bade them. "Make sure he doesn't die on us." They all walked off reluctantly, Kord giving a very nasty scowl at the mention of Squall. Through a large sliding door they all left.

"Mostly the latter." He then replied to Seifer, not taking his eyes off the golden gunblade. "Wait, you saw Karrion?"

"I didn't just see him. I had a bit of a spar with him."

"So you know he's a gunblader then." His mouth was upturned in a sneer. "He's the best damn gunblader I've ever seen. Even better then you and Squall combined."

"And how the hell would you know?" Seifer barked, not liking the thought of being outclassed. "You spar with him?" He had come to the conclusion himself that Dr. Raven had some know-how, but _no one_ was better than him.

Seething, he withdrew Perish only so he could position her for an attack. "You're treading on thin ice Fly Boy."

Right then, Nida had to wonder if Seifer could smell fear, because he would have smelt as bad as Squall. "I made that gunblade of his!" He blurted out. Thankfully, he had gotten Seifer's attention, and he lowered his weapon.

_The hell is he trying to fool?_ "You're telling me you make gunblades? You're no older them me..."

"...I'm older then you think. Don't believe that..."

"...Why should I believe that malarkey? Your credentials are pathetic in my book!"

"...If you would just let me explain...!"

"...Explanation time is over!" Barked Seifer. Impatient, he swung Perish at him, ignoring the fact that he couldn't cut butter with that thing. Not that it would have helped any though, as he also ignored the fact that Nida was SeeD. Deftly, the mercenary jumped up, flipping in the air and landing feet first on the ground only a few feet away. For the first time, it was Nida's turn to brandish his weapon threateningly. The pike head swung gracefully to meet Seifer between the eyes.

_Oh, so you do mean business._ He thought. _Fine, Ill bite._

"I know what you are Seifer." Nida blurted, successfully stopping his thoughts.

_Does he mean he knows about the Echo Host thing?_ He lowered his gunblade. "Alright, then what am I?"

"An Echo Host."

_So he does know._ "How do you know about Echo Hosts?"

"When I said it was we who are responsible for your existence, I meant it." Nida withdrew his weapon as well. "My kind created your kind accidentally. We've been breading you artificially since, monitoring your progress."

_Monitoring my progress?_ Seifer laid Perish against his shoulder. "Why the hell would you breed an accident?" Then he thought of something. "You're here to kill me aren't you?"

"If I was, I would have done so while you were unconscious."

_Touché._ "Then, if you breed us, you would know who my parents are."

"You never struck me as caring about that..."

"JUST TELL ME WHO THEY ARE!"

Nida flinched, putting his pike up defensively. "I would if I could. But our records were lost several decades ago. I don't even know where you were cultivated."

_Me? Cultivated? I don't know if I'll be able to grasp that concept._ "Karrion seems to know. Or, at least that's what he tells me. He did promise that information if I gave him Leonhart." Seifer still had that nagging feeling that it was a big, hairy lie. If it irked Nida though, why not say it?

Indeed, it was irking him. _Korax knows that information? How? Does he have inside info on the Kramers?_ The thought had to be dismissed though. Unlike Seifer, he did know that Raven was prone to distorting the truth, or even using it as a weapon.

"Then how would you like to switch teams?" He asked.

"Not interested."

_Why am I not surprised?_ "Okay, okay, let me re-word that. What if I sweeten Karrion's deal?"

"I'm listening..."

"Okay. I need all six who had warped into the future and destroyed that time witch."

"Ultimicia." Seifer corrected.

"Right. You already brought me Leonhart. So you're one sixth complete."

"I was never good with fractions."

"Well...that's one down, five to go."

"Better." Seifer had to admit. "But why do you need Rat Boy and the Peanut Gallery? Just because they're warped?"

"And they're _**warped**_. See, they crossed that time threshold, and brought back some of the warping magic with them. Each piece is a bit of the Wayward. So when all six are together, they'll form the Wayward. So..."

"Why the hell should I go along with you?"

"Stop interrupting me! I'm getting to that!"

Seifer just sneered at him, giving an indignant snort.

"Bottom line: I want you to get Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, Zell, and that other girl that was with them; I think she's the Sorceress now."

"You'd probably be referring to Rinoa."

"Probably? I don't need probabilities; I just want the sixth member, alive and relatively intact."

"And what the hell is my payment?" Seifer quipped. "I was raised a mercenary, therefore my better judgment requires a payment for my services."

"I can make you another gunblade." Nida offered quickly.

It all sounded too easy to Seifer; too...smooth.

He thought no more as he was interrupted by a most painful shriek.

* * *

"So, what do we do now?" Began Rick, staring at where they had set Squall: on the floor. That smell was much more powerful up close; enough to make him gag, tolerant or not.

"Well," Sindri reasoned, "Nida did say we were to make sure he didn't die on us. So we should probably make sure he isn't dead."

"Fine with me." With one javelin in hand, he prodded Squall in the side with it.

Slightly, he stirred. "I'm awake you moron." He croaked, than whispered a string of Alcauldian curses.

Rick was apparently grateful. "Well, looks like we don't have to throw water at him."

"Really?" Pondered Brokk, holding a bucket of water he was about to throw on Squall.

With grunts and curses, Squall got onto his elbows. Slapped with dizziness, he couldn't stay up long. His nuked side was really starting to sting. He brought his hand up to his side. There was no way he could have felt anything else, as the tips of his fingers were losing their sensitivity. He had lost all feeling in his left leg; all that was left to say anything was there was a pinching ache on the left side of his hip. Again, he attempted to get up before someone had the audacity to pity him. It was easy enough to turn onto one side, but as he did so his spine felt like it was snapping, and it probably was. Each bone cracking set of a chain reaction of sparks in him. Though he tried to hold back his screams, it was all for nothing. That white hot deluge would not be dammed.

The six of them were shocked and dumbfounded as to what to do.

"What do we do now?" Shouted Rick.

"Get him off the damn floor for one!" Ordered Sindri, pointing to how Squall was squirming and writhing as he clutched his stomach in vain. "He's going to crack his skull open the way hes going!" Both him and Rick grabbed hold of Squall easily, but he was squirming too much to keep a solid grip on him. Both of them adjusted their hold constantly as to not drop him. Squall's wildly flailing hand clawed Sindri in the cheek, and Rick was hit in the chin with his head.

Nida had thrown the broken door open. "What the hell is happening here?" He spoke Galbadian so everyone would know what he was saying.

"It's Squall!" Started Rick, adjusting his hold again. "We don't know what's wrong! He just started screaming like this!"

"Well then, sedate him!"

"With what?" Shouted Sindri.

Yuri came into the conversation, appearing from the broken security lock. "I know a place where you can set him! Fallow me!" He pointed away and started walking. Fallowing and trying to keep Squall calm at the same time, Sindri and Rick fallowed. He led them into a large room lined with leathery seats, and a great window flecked with stains, scratches, and dark smudges, it was nearly impossible to see outside, though the light outside wasn't very strong as it was."

Squall had stopped screaming, and had settled for mumbling incoherently.

_"Vri lgriða Anollþor Elv,_ [Syphon Thrice Fit] _... ... ... longa ... ... ... ...evri iðra ... ... ...Dürisþi ..._ [lost, all dead, Cloak...]"

"What's he saying?" Rick wondered out loud.

"Haven't a damn clue." Replied Sindri. "Something about being lost, everyone dead, and a cloak of some kind. Probably some fever delusion. Hey Yuri, there's nothing but seats in here!"

"These things recline." He defended. He pressed a silver button on the pivot of one of the seats, pushing the back down into a reclining position. "See."

Not bothering to argue, they set Squall down on the reclined seat. Finding the alien seat belt, they buckled him in.

"Now what about his legs?" Rick pointed out.

Sindri dismissed his question. "They're fine." Being a seat, Squall's legs were hung over the edge. Since the seat wasn't completely flat, that was fine.

"Hey," Rick started again, "you suppose he'll know where he is?"

"Whatever." Mumbled Squall, surprising the three of them. Even Rick, as he had guessed what _Krossjylga_ meant a long time ago.

Yuri looked at Squall, then at Sindri. "How long do you s'pose he's been awake?"

"I never went to sleep idiot."

"Oh, I'm an idiot, am I?" Started Yuri, not taking into account that he was arguing with an invalid. Squall didn't even open his eyes, not alone look towards them. He couldn't believe he was arguing with him either. Why was he caring?

_"Don't bother with them all. They'll all be dead soon anyway."_ Hissed Cloak. While the three of them argued technicalities, Squall dealt with the sensation of every little sliver of bone shifting inside his body. It was quite painful. His last scream had used up too much energy as it was, but he still flinched and moaned uncomfortably, wondering how long he would have to endure such pain until Syphon upheld her end of the promise.

The chattering in his ears was twisted in the cries of dying cats instead of people shouting, and there came an incomprehensible whispering from outside. It irked him as much as unnerved him.

"Why aren't you dead already?" He wheezed in Alcauldian, his voice raspy. The outburst made the three of them look down, not knowing how to respond to that. _And you'll all be dead if you stay where you are._ Squall thought venemously. But that wasn''t right, he should be dead. They should be all dead.

Rick was curious to what he was saying. "Dude, what did he just say?"

"Were hurting his ears." Answered Sindri, neglecting the true translation. "Lets leave the loony to his ranting." Solemnly, they turned to leave.

As they left, what Squall said caught with Yuri and Sindri. "_Akr ærðss. Jórvikræ ærðajki, ünrsið. Svakr ak jall bosr an malgþar..._" [He'll kill you. Nida will kill you all. You are just a means to an end...].

For them to get up to the bridge they had to climb a rope. Nida was up there, trying to spur the rest of his group into getting that ship moving.

"Someone's going to see this fire sooner than later. We have to get this thing in the air!"

"Nuh uh. I'm not touching anything here!" Brokk defended.

He looked over towards Kord. "Kord?"

"I don't make a habit of touching unknown buttons."

He looked to Yagi, but he wasn't any more willing.

"Say, Nida." Sindri began with some vinegar. "If you're so keen to shove off, why don't you try to get us up?" The others agreed. They wouldn't dare touch anything so alien.

Nida was uneasy over touching unknown equipment as it was, but he wasn't about to let them know. "Oh, c'mon! A blind guy flew this thing!"

The wall that separated the fire from the garage finally gave away. The fire found the telltale traces of flammable chemicals and moved forward. The blaze had gotten right under the ship. Even though the window in the cockpit was smudged and dyed, the burning light could be seen through the glass. Panicked, Nida ran towards the glass, pressing his face against it, his eyes seeming to pop right out of their sockets.

"There's a damn fire all around us now! Get this tub in the air already!"

"No." Quipped Sindri, the rest fallowed his example.

"Even if we fry? You still don't want to move?"

"Well..." He honestly took some time to think of it, but someone else had climbed up the rope.

"...You do know that there's _yrvi_ [bonfire] running right under us?"

"Yes, Seifer." Nida answered, enthusiasm parched.

"Seifer!" Incredulously shouted Brokk. "He's hitching with us now?"

"Damn right I am Galb." He sneered. Getting to his feet, he got up threateningly close to Brokk, looking down at him with a fearful smirk. "Hope I don't make you uncomfortable."

Nida snorted at his attitude. "While were still burn-less..."

"Burn-less...?" Sefier then looked over at him with a scowl. "Why don't you just start pressing buttons and see what happens?"

"If it was that easy, one of these jokers would have done it!" He spoke in Alcauldian, but momentarily forgot that four of those jokers could speak it as well. Though meant in jest, it didn't go over well, especially with Sindri.

"I've killed for less Fly Boy. But I'm willing to let you keep your head for one more favour..."

"What? Forget it! I've already given you one promise...!"

Seifer wouldn't let him finish, "I'm taking this thing to get Fujin and Raijin..."

"And why the hell should I promise you that?"

A heavy rafter fell down on the glass. The glass did not shatter, but how much force it would take in all to crack it; none could say, and didn't want to know. The fire was still burning away, and they could feel it, but Nida was concerned about letting Seifer get his way again.

"Oh, for God's Sake Nida!" Kord shouted. "Just make the damn deal! It's already starting to get hot in here!"

"Fine then." He consented miserably. "Start pressing buttons Almasy."

Seifer grumbled a stream of curses. He shoved Brokk away from the control and pressed a large square red button.

_"Aurch kubelbruscht gronknbrie."_ [Self-destruct unavailable]

"Oo...hope that wasn't the self-destruct." Seifer joked, but it didn't go over well. He flipped a black, flat switch.

_"Anch wöglid ingnei."_ [Shields activated.] The heat died down as the shields protected from the fire. But something unforeseen; and rather unbelievable happened, the flames started to climb the kinetic shield as if it were a kerosene bubble. The burning cocoon terrified just as much as it infuriated. Sindri actually jumped down from the cockpit.

"What the hell are you pressing Almasy?" Shouted Nida.

"Nothing!" He answered. "That was a switch!" There was a large dial beside what looked like the main monitor. It was surrounded with ten coloured buttons, of which, the green one was lit. He turned the dial till it matched up with that one. There was a flash of green light, a crash of thunder, and a brief show of gold, white, and green fireworks. The ship was tossed violently from whatever that was. Seifer had just found the weapons, but the shield was in the way.

* * *

From where he was, Sindri was nearly knocked off his feet

"The hell was that?" He snapped, aiming his question more for the seats around him. As he expected his question to be answered, it wasn't.

"I said: What the hell was that!"

All he got of his answer was a stiff devils snout, the Balambese version of the finger. He wasn't surprised, but as the interior temperature of the ship continued to rise, he was flabbergasted. "If we fry, you fry too!"

"Whatever."

Squall was much too engaged in numerous delegations, if one could call them delegations. It was more like a heated debate and the microphone was busted. Cloak was shouting out her disapproval of Sindri. His amazing powers of telepathy were proving less then tantalizing, it seemed the more he used it the more he was receiving wild signals rather than tuning into them, it was like a crowd of people talking all at once. There was his promise to Syphon, and his own disgust. Cloak had a point. Why did he bother fraternizing with that wimp? Things he admired were courage, honesty, and loyalty. If you didn't have them all, at least have one. Sindri had none of it; he was a kniving, two-faced coward, just like Nida. It helped that he wasn't an idiot, but that made him even more dangerous, and reading his mind unearthed gobs of blackened slime. Sindri had once trusted Nida, but no more, and Squall could gather each and every reason. But as for Syphon's promise...

_If we fry, you fry, too!_

That was a problem.

"If you wont tell me that," Barked Sindri, "then at least tell us how to fly this thing! Its getting too hot in here." He wiped the sweat falling from his face, but Squall could have not even the simple luxury of that. Something was happening to his skin; he could not feel the heat being described. In vain he tried to get up, even to just walk away, but he couldn't. He wanted to swat Sindri away, but he couldn't do that either. Oh, what a joy it would have been to just get up and leave those doomed people. Given the strength, he would do just that.

_"You can still treat these vagabonds as the minions they are."_ Cloak cackled.

_Explain._

_"If you do not care about them, then nothing they think or feel matters. Use them Appalling Pace. Use them before they use you."_

It irked him to no end to know he could not fulfill his promise alone, as he would prefer. He would have to rely on the jokers around him; and he hated that.

_"Drones._" Cloak seamed to chant. _"Lackys. Pawns. Expandibles. Gears to be worn down and replaced. You are superior to these goddamn rats! They are your soldiers. Not Nida's!"_

"I give." Croaked Squall. "I'll tell you, but only you. But the fuel is low. There is more in the Lunatic Pandora."

"Yeah, why would we need that?"

"Because you won't get off this continent without it." His throat had become sore just saying that or had it something to do with the rising heat? "And this is Nida's territory."

Sindri was listening intently.

While he was talking with Squall, Seifer was still desperately trying to get that ship to fly. Scared beyond hope, Brokk was constantly butting in with some idea or other, while Rick was actually trying to push him aside and take over. Out of them all, it seemed only Yuri was staying out of the chaos, reduced to staring out the smeared glass at the surrounding fire: a fire that shouldn't have been wrapped around them like a sausage casing. It wasn't the first time he felt useless, and it wouldn't be the last. That was, if they were to get out of there alive.

Just like Yuri, Nida looked out of the splotched window with no direction. The fire was raging as he would have expected, but he did not expect a patch of fire to catch on the glass.

_What is this stuff coated with? Varnish?_ Even more so, the fire ate through that glass like wood, and exploded like a tin can. In rushed a sure prominence, hitting anything and everything inside. All of them, every person he could see. All of them dropped, the fire was already eating away at them. Only Kord had the strength to sit up. Her face was already peeled away, her hair was reduced to a charred, threadbare dome of embers and blisters.

Her lipless mouth opened. "DON'T DO THIS!" The scream shot out like a bullet, ringing in a voice that definitely wasn't Kord's. But the voice was so urgent, yet so stern; frightened and frightening. Nida didn't know he was screaming until someone reminded him.

"Get a grip Nida!" It was Kord. He would refuse to open his eyes. He did not want to see that leering, burning skeleton again. But she gave him a flick in the head. "Hey! Fearless Leader!"

So he opened his eyes. Everything was as he had left it. There was not raging inferno, everyone was still intact. Rick, Brokk, and Seifer were still fighting at the helm. That wave of relief was schooled into a wave of rage easily. Nida hadn't known it, but he had slumped into a corner at the back of the cabin, though he stood up fast in his spite.

"Alright! What the hell was that Yuri?"

"What the hell was what?" He whined, backing up a bit at the snappy accusation.

"This whole cabin," he illustrated by moving his palm in an arch, "this whole damn place was on fire a second ago and now it isn't! And I know only one person here is telepathic!"

Seifer took a double-take to see them, perking up at the mention of telepathic.

Yuri looked absolutely shocked and abashed. Sindri had always joshed about scape-goats, but he honestly wasn't ready to accept it.

"A vision? What the...I can't do visions! I have enough trouble just with words!"

Seifer found the argument was getting interesting. Telepathy? He briefly recalled that thing he read about it. It was hazy at best, but what he did remember was **verbal telepathy** and **visual telepathy.**

"Then who the hell is dealing the visions?" Nida snapped. He looked directly over at Seifer. "You?"

His snappy reply: "I wish."

The rope at the lift was pulled, and Sindri climbed up. Before Nida could reprimand him for running off, he ran up to the helm and pushed Seifer aside. He was surprised at the force that flimsy excuse for a human being used. Taking hold of the steering coloumb, he gave it a tug, and the ship lifted off. The ascention blew the fire off the shields. Sadly though, the shields would be down for a while due to fire damage.

"Sweat!" Yuri shouted. "How did you know? I'm the telepathist."

"I asked Squall."

"How?" Kord just had to ask.

"I said please."


	20. Chapter 20

20

No Time

When the idea of 'flushing' was given it had sounded like a good idea. But when they all got washed away by Leviathan's own flood, the error of their ways was made painfully clear to them.

Though they would not be harmed by the magical waters of an allied Guardian Force, they could still be carried by that tide. Rinoa had been slammed into a pillar and rendered unconscious, the powerful flow broke that pillar, and sent her dropping down the new waterfall; down into the darkened wreck.

Selphie was next to hit the pillar, but she had caught the metal beam instead of being shoved into it. She caught Angelo as the cataract pulled her by, she hardly noticed she dropped the book.

"RINOA!" She yelled in vain as the girl was flushed down with several unlucky imps. It was not until she had dropped some way did a great glowing white web appear bellow her. She fell through that one, and several more until her decent was slow enough to keep her alive on impact, but still with a big splash. It was still too far down for anyone to see her, and that meant the imps as well.

Irvine was dangling over the railing with Deacon holding onto his leg, and Zell onto the other. Quistis had actually gone over the edge, but caught the rivets of a larger metal pillar, probably some sort of vent; though her hold was a precarious one at best. Bishop was fortunate to have only been washed down a catwalk, but unfortunate enough to be out far enough to be swarmed.

Deacon managed to climb up Irvine, but Zell didn't have that sort of dexterity, or the lack of weight.

"Alright Zell," Irvine called down to him, "your turn."

"Turn for what? I wasn't paying attention." He had been too busy looking down at the amazing distance he would fall if let go. There were a lot of those camouflage scales lined up down there, and he had to wonder how sharp they were.

The flush did prove some good though as it had drastically thinned out the imp swarm: what had once been a purple wall of them was now just a storm cloud. They started to dive towards Bishop; he held them off with his claws. With growling clicks and clacks, a blue shield spread around him; much like that of the protect spell, only that spell had spikes. Many imps hit those spikes, and they all sustained injuries. Their black blood splattered all over the spiked protect, a sort of creepy effect as the spell was pretty much invisible unless hit.

Many of the monsters started to swoop down on Quistis. They would only land passing grazes with their claws, enjoying the sport of something else to kill but their own. Defending herself was quite hard, what with her only leverage being so poor, and slick from the tide; to go for her whip would be disastrous. There was not enough time for her to call any of her GF's, so she went with throwing magic. Imps had some pretty good spells to draw from them, from that she glanced that there was a wide range of them: old and young, experienced and fool-hardy. One flew directly at her face, knocking her completely off balance. It was only from a well trained reaction that she grabbed her whip, and used it to catch the railing.

A good bunch of the imps took note of Selphie, and they all dove on her at once. Her nunchaku proved a good enough deterrent; by killing the youngest of them, but the elder's were smarter than that, as well as the fact they could fly. They would get behind her, get above her, and right up in front of her. Anglo's bite wasn't nearly as tough as a nunchaku, but when she grabbed hold of a downed imp by the neck and thrashed it about, the dead imp was enough to tell the others that the dog was dangerous. She would bark and snarl, telling the imps to stay back, but one did not, and Angelo had it by the leg in no time. Though she could not drag that larger imp down, she did tear the leg off.

While they batted off the imps in vain, Rinoa shrugged off unconsciousness, groaning and holding the back of her head as she sat up. It was impossible to see the camouflage scale she had shattered, as well as anything above her. She could pick out the flashes of magic, either from her companions, or the multitude of chittering and screeching imps. Being that the case she was hesitant to make any light. Though she couldn't see the mess around her, she could certainly feel it: first was that she was soaked, and that she sat in a pool a few inches deep. It felt like there was debris all around her; mostly sharp like glass.

_How was it I survived?_ She wondered. _That looks like a long ways to fall._

_"You're a sorceress my dear."_ Alexander reassured. _"You don't really have to be conscious to...oh dear, I said it."_

Yes, he had said it, the one thing that Rinoa was hoping hadn't happened. But if what Alexander had said was true, then it was possible for her to bewitch someone when semiconscious or unconscious. In short, it only made her feel worse about current events. It was then that it seemed both Alexander and Diablos had gone a ways away, as if they were actually in the building instead of in her head; Diablos was constantly berating Alex for the slip of his tongue, if he indeed had one.

_"I believe you."_ Something squeaked, turning her away from the badgering that was her other two GF's. The only other Guardian Force she had was a giant plant named Cactaur. Was that how Cactaur sounded?

_"I believe you didn't hurt anyone."_ It started again.

_You're not making sense. W-what are you getting at? _She had the vaguest idea of what it was talking about; a vague idea that was very, very specific.

_"A blip is only when a deep desire isn't met while awake. You didn't want to hurt the Prime Minister, and you didn't want to hurt Squall. You couldn't have done that."_

It was enough to bring her to tears. It was clear there was much more to the world of magic and Sorceresses then she had learned everywhere else. Much more. She wondered if those books of Ellone's would be translated soon. Then, something warm dribbled on her head.

_Please be blood._ She nearly forgot about the imps above. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see more around her, and the plight above became more apparent. Besides the broken pane were strewn imp bodies; some that were killed by the rush of water, some that were impaled on glass, and others by whatever frenzy had gone on before. Then it hit her; she had the perfect shot!

"We're going back to Esthar!"

"We're going to the Lunatic Pandora!"

"Esthar!"

"Lunatic Pandora!"

"ESTHAR!"

"PANDORA!"

"Hey! Give it a rest you two!" Nida shouted. It seemed that no sooner had they gotten out of the fire then they were back in the frying pan. Since no one had any definite idea of where to go, and both Seifer and Sindri did, they had begun to argue over a course. As the leader, Nida wouldn't allow senseless bickering. He had been the one to promise Seifer that they would go back for his posse.

But Sindri was not budging. It was hardly clear as to why his decision was so, but that didn't make it any more credible.

"We're heading to Esthar and that's final!" Ordered Nida; his patience far past thin.

_Alexander!_ She called. The said Guardian Force seamed to perk up to her voice. _There's a better shot at the imps! They're right above me!_

Alexander answered her call with a bounce in his step; it was much better than being berated by Diablos. Rinoa's eyes shone with his holy aura as the ground around them seemed to be covered in snow, shallow cliffs of rock formed around them; the mighty Alexander appeared right behind her. Readjusting his canons and realigning his focus, he aimed upwards, letting off a stream of light.

The stream surprised those above: Zell, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Deacon...Angelo whimpered and hid behind Selphie as she gawked in awe at the sight. Bishop was caught right in the middle of the shot, he saw the imps being burned in white flame and panicked, but it was only a few seconds to learn that he was feeling nothing bad from it. Alexander had already established him as an ally, so he was not harmed.

With the dissipation the beam saw an immense number of imps fall, the one's that had been nearest to the centre were still on fire. Some of those corpses landed on Rinoa, and were they ever heavy.

With more hope than before, Selphie called for her again. "Rinoa!"

"Was that Alexander?" Wondered Irvine, still shocked from the sudden flood of light. "Because that was awesome!"

"Damn straight." Zell agreed, just as shocked as he was a moment ago.

The imp numbers had been successfully thinned, but not eradicated by far; it merely gave them more wing room. From out of those purple and red masses came two imps; two very different imps. They were of the two different kinds Rinoa saw, the female looking ones. Instead of purple, they were a deep green. They zeroed in on Irvine's shout.

He noticed right away that they headed straight for him. "Was it something I said?"

"And I'm usually the one who says something bad." Quipped Zell, not really aware at what he was getting at.

They stopped short of them and hit them with their best spells, both holy spells.

In retaliation, Quistis flung her whip at one of those imp queens; the tip wrapping around her foot. The imp queen was strong enough to fly up with her still holding onto the other end of the chain. One of those queens got closer to Zell, hoping for an easier target to scratch, only to get kicked in the chin. Out of all the paramagic he had ever been hit with, Zell considered holy spells one of the worst, but it was hardly enough to take him out of the game. As fast as he could with his internal burns, he jumped onto his feet, the landing being a little wobbly at first. He kicked the fallen imp, only to have her scramble back up and grab him by the ankle. Just as Quistis, he was hauled upwards, the imp queen holding his ankle firmly.

"Hang on buddy!" Irvine shouted. "I've got your back!" He aimed his new gun upwards. With his best guess, he turned all four dials halfway clockwise. The inside of all four barrels started to glow with bluish power, spitting out a few sparks of electricity. Making his best guess at a trigger, he fired into the monstrous flock. The gun fired a four tailed spark of blue. His target got out of the way, but exploded into a bright eruption of blue lightning, engulfing a handful of imps. They fell, many of them badly singed.

Irvine stood before in awe at the spectacle. Zell was simply glad _he_ wasn't hit.

The imp queen threw a large spell of thundaga at Irvine, before swooping down and hitting him with Zell. Seeing he made an excellent blunt weapon, she kept hold of him.

The other imp queen did not think the same of Quistis. The chain itself chafed her pastern, and it didn't help that Quistis was climbing up it; slowly, causing the chain to wiggle back and forth against her skin and ankle bone, it didn't take long for the skin to open and bleed. The blood made it slippery, and the chain slipped off her foot Quistis fell to the grating, but not in freefall, there were plenty of imps that broke it, and got broken in return. She only fell onto the grate with a jolt, hardly even enough to knock her out cold. Shaken, she got up from her fall; right before a huge ship with a dragon shaped prow drove right though the wall like a deck of cards.

_The Ragnarok?_ But it couldn't have been. That ship was sleek, shiny, smooth, red, and a virtually flawless looking craft. The craft in front of her looked like it had been to hell and back. But as far as she knew, the Ragnarok was a one-of-a-kind ship.

The craft, whether Ragnarok or not, did not grind to a halt when it flew through the outer wall. It punched right though and kept on sailing, right into a crash landing; grinding to a fantastic halt with a wild fireworks show, a downpour of metal debris and a deluge of broken glass scales. The crash stirred up an already angry hornet's nest. It destroyed the walkways and other supports and electronics in its path, nearly dragging Quistis down with it. Irvine and Deacon were the furthest away from them, but the one who was pulled down was Bishop. He rode on the tail ends of the engine covers, well enough away from the impact explosion. When all was relatively calm again, it had appeared that the busted up Ragnarok was still intact.

Fortunately, the ship had crashed a ways away from Rinoa, but she was no less as shocked as the others; and that included the imps. She, too, thought it was the Ragnarok at first glance, but second glance made it not so clear.

Through the slosh, she trudged closer, hoping to get inside, not for any specific reason other than curiosity. She found the gangplank sealed shut, and it was just too hard to get to the airlock. The ship stood eerily still and silent, she couldn't even see what was happening inside.

_"It is possible the crew of the ship may be dead."_ Started Alexander.

_Yes, I gathered that!_ She snapped back. _But they may not be dead. They may be hurt. Hence a good reason to get in there._

_"Well, if you want to get in, may I suggest welding, possibly smashing one of those windows. Works quite well for breaking and entering it does."_

_How am I even to do that? Those windows are way up there!_

_ "Have you ever considered levitating...?_

_ Levitating?_ The thought at first was absurd; until she remembered she was a sorceress.

_"Yes, levitating. It's a form of advanced telekinesis that should be..."_

_ I'm aware of what levitation is!_

_"Oh? Oh good, saves some time explaining."_

_ This 'levitation', it would work somewhere on the same lines at that ESP thing, right?_

_ "It's a mental ability. It should. It works differently for each individual though."_

_ So, I have to concentrate._

_ "Yes, pretty much so. Just relax, try to imagine..."_

Diablos interrupted. _"NO TIME!"_

Looking up fast, Rinoa saw what he was talking about. A group of imps were heading straight for her!

She rolled out of the way as they dove right at her head; aiming to claw her face off. Sitting in the wet garbage of refuse, glass and imp blood, he hid behind a half broken scale; then remembered that the scales were transparent, and that imps weren't the dumbest of monsters.

One of their spells of fire smashed that scale completely, but Rinoa was no longer behind that; she stared to make her way for the ship once more. The imps cut her off. Right there she saw it was more than just imps after her, but there were several of those more masculine ones: they were coloured blue and had white hair.

All of them snaring, one of them elbowed her, throwing her through two scales. As she tried to get up, one of the kings came to her with a crow bar. She dodged that attack only to have to dodge another, and another, and another. The kings would come at her with their claws, fists, and anything they could pick up and use as a weapon, all while the purple drones threw magic at her.

_This is insane._ She thought, thrown onto her back by a close spell of firaga. _Are all the imps from up their coming down here? _ The mystery soup would have nearly covered her face if she has lain down on her back, not like she could afford to lie down at all.

A drone imp came at her; mouth agape, ready to chew her face of.

Squall could hear her well enough as if she had screamed.

_Rinoa?_

The imp chomped down on her arm; reflexively held in front of her. Though it hurt dearly it was still better than her face. With her finger, she poked the thing in the eye. It let go with a screech, flapping off while tending its maimed eye.

Another imp swooped at her, that one only grazing her hair as she ducked. Another bit her by the leg and another got a mouth full of hair. Another imp rushed her, its claws ready to rip her throat out. Rinoa held it at bay desperately, but its claws were still too close for comfort.

Suddenly, the imp was thrown away.

_Bishop!_

The Moomba had tackled the imp. Next was the imp that gnawed on her leg, and he swiped at the imp chewing her hair. They flew off, but there were still many more.

It was completely unintentional that they crashed the ship, but they had no idea just what they crashed into. Of course, it was dark in there, and they all kept just as silent. None of them had any idea what that wild squawking and cackling was; only Seifer had a vague notion, but there was no way any of them wanted to venture out to see.

From inside the ship they heard it: a slight mechanical squealing fallowed by the clicking, scratching, and shuffling footsteps of something running around down bellow them. From the sound of it, it moved fast, until it was eclipsed by a shuddering whirr of machinery.

"What the...?" Shouted Seifer. "It's lowering the door!"

"I believe it's called a 'gangplank'..." Brokk corrected.

"Screw your Estharian lessons!" He jumped down the shaft. Whatever was in the ship was opening them up to the outside, and he wanted to be there to great whatever came though, or possibly stop what was moving around. From the cockpit he jumped; not bothering to climb down the rope, running as fast as he could towards the gangplank. It was hardly halfway open, but whatever opened it was gone.

Nida's shout rolled across the ship. "Squall's gone!"

Several imps dove for Rinoa's head. They missed, but were only fallowed by two kings, which were immediately followed by a strong thundaga spell from a drone that actually did hit. Bishop tackled one king, but the other flew off. She readied a lantern and threw it, but it seemed that it didn't work when the ground it was thrown on was wet. If only she knew what she did when she was attacked by Squall.

_Attacked by Squall..._ That attack really didn't do much to him, though.

While thinking of any other spell she could use, both types of imps fluttered away from them in a frenzy. Looking back towards the ship, she saw what had scared them so. Wading through the waters on spindly legs was Squall; Sabre Squall.

He seemed to not notice Rinoa or Bishop; and probably didn't: his presence barely silenced the imps; only made them flutter about in a mad panic. Though she was used to it, the stench down there was probably putrid, but he appeared to mind neither.

_Oh wait, he has no sense of smell._

He just stood there. Neither his blades, nor his muzzle lifted; such that Rinoa wondered what he was waiting for. She had to get closer, and as she did so she created a ripple in the water. The ripple traveled forward and touched his foot.

Immediately, Squall turned his head right at her. Rinoa looked over at him as he blindly stared at her, not moving again but keeping his darkened gaze on her. It was simply unsettling. The imps did do something though: a bunch of drones grabbed him and flew off; all of them, drones, kings and queens. Even the queen who was holding Zell did not drop him, but took him with her as she flew off through the huge gaping hole in the wall.

"Whoah, where you going? Hey! Put me down! I don't want flying lessons! HELP!"

"ZELL!" Selphie shouted.

"HEEEEEELP! I'M STILL UPSIDE DOWN...!" With the swarm, he was dragged away into the night, Angelo barked ceaselessly at them as they flew away, as if telling them not to come back or else.

They all stared at the empty space for some time.

"Wow," started Irvine, "maybe something's on TV..."

Rinoa and Bishop were also flabbergasted at what happened; it was too fast, and much too quiet. Absently Rinoa wondered forth just a few tentative steps, her toe hit something in the grimy water. Bending down, she felt through the water; lifting up that book. Looking it over, it seemed to have repelled the water; not a single sign of water damage could be seen on it. Holding the book close to her breast, she looked up again longingly.

_It was like they were ordered back. And what's more, they left just as soon as they had got Squall._

_"They sure made a mess out of the place if they were only waiting for one person."_

_Alexander?_

_ "You're catching on quite fast you are. But I do get where Cactaur is getting, really. You shouldn't blame yourself for every odd happenings about, there have been plenty of odd happenings about that did not include Sorceresses and even during intermission periods..."_ He went on to talk about whatever strange phenominomn he remembered, and somehow that wove into a monologue about the rise of the Dollet Empire and the invention of briskotta cheese. The cheese story was quite interesting.

_...Maybe I can trade Guardians with Zell...?_

"Hear that?" Whispered Nida.

"No." Rick answered.

"Exactly."

The rest of the small group listened, only hearing the whistling sound of their own silence; and the loud crash of some metal object falling to the ground.

"D-do you think Squall had anything to do with it?" Brokk mumbled.

"Oh please." Scoffed Kord. "That invalid?"

"That invalid," continued Nida," Managed to get up and hide somewhere. Also, where the hell did Seifer go?"

"Right here." Sindri pointed beside himself. Seifer really was right there. "He's been back here for awhile, I was wondering if you noticed him."

Nida didn't know whether to tell Sindri off or curse his blind spot; again.

"You came back fast." Sindri told Seifer. "I had thought you wanted to get out of here."

"I don't have to answer that question." Truth be told, the outside stank and he wouldn't go out into it. "In fact, if you're just going to throw a bunch of asinine questions my way, I really don't need to be right here...!"

"But I only asked you one..."

"I'm going to go out through that air lock; would probably be easier."

"Couldn't fit through the gangplank, eh yah?"

Seifer outwardly cringed to hear that. "What makes you think it was a 'fitting' issue."

"So you were afraid of the monsters?"

"No!"

"The dark?"

"Hell no!"

"A stench? Because a stench has proven to be a pretty effective wall..."

"...NO! See, this is what I mean about asinine questions...!"

"What do you mean by 'asinine'?" Rick asked out of nowhere.

He was beginning to sound too much like the Galbadian version of Raijin. "What does the word 'asinine' start with?"

"Uh, is that a trick question?"

_Dear God I miss Raijin._ "Figure it out ding dong." The door opened as he walked towards it, but he stopped right in his tracks. "Rinoa! Where the hell did you come from? And what is that funk?" The girl stood nearly right in the doorway, soaking wet and covered in whatever gore and filth was out there. Bishop was right beside her, just as funky and wet.

"I'd prefer not to talk about the funk." She scoffed. "I would, however, like to ask: where the hell were you when the imps attacked?"

"Rat Boy was out there. Ask him..."

"They took Squall...!"

Sensing a fight, the others crowded around. It was then that Nida saw the book.

"And you know what else?" She continued to shout. "I'm taking this ship and going after him! Because he was generous enough to came out to me when YOU DIDN'T!"

"_Ssh_, use your indoor voice." Seifer shushed.

"I fell from a terminal height, lived, got attacked by several dozen imps, all while standing in a pool of REFUSE and DEATH!"

Bishop growled in agreement. And for the first time, Seifer noticed him.

"What the...? That damn thing is still with you?"

"YES!"

Seifer was given no time for a rebutle. "Hold that book for you." Offered Nida, scooting in closer to them. "If you're wanting up to the cockpit you'll need both hands free."

"Why, thank you." She gave the book to him, but had one last word for Seifer. "Finally, some civility." Though it was hard to be civil to someone that smelled like a garbage dumpster. She also left a trail of muddy water behind her as she climbed up the rope.

Seifer looked down at the Bishop. "What? You're not going with her?"

The Moomba just shrugged.

He turned back to Nida. "What gives? We had a deal..."

"Yes we do. But nothing about it states we have to go back for your fan club."

"Yes, I believe there was."

"No, there wasn't. I only agreed to make you a new gunblade if you got six people for me. Look, there's still one, and she's going after another. Just go with the flow."

Like Seifer would go quietly; under his breath he let loose a slur of Alcauldian cusses as he went up the rope.

With him away, Nida looked back at the book, admiring its workmanship.

"A book?" Rick scoffed. "Why a book?"

Nida snapped at him. "Because, you dolt, this book is a journal about the last four Waywards on this planet; how the author coped with them, and how my kind fought them. I believe I was quite vocal about Waywards, this book will give me a leg up."

At the mention of 'Wayward', Sindri and Yagi rolled their eyes. _Not again..._

"Look at that." Brokk pointed out. "That cameo on the cover looks like the pendent Squall always wears."

"It's the Kramer family crest. It was an ancestor of that family that wrote this book. And awhile ago." He tapped the lettering of the title. "If this title is any indication, the language this thing is written it is ancient. I can't read it."

"Then why get it?" Suggest Yuri. "If you can't read it, why bother?"

"Because I'll _get_ someone to read it!" Nida hissed back. "Headmaster Cid could read this, he took up ancient languages."

"Just one problem with that..." Sindri interjected.

"Yes Sindri, I'm aware Headmaster Cid is dead. But his wife isn't, she would probably know a bit about this language."

"Headmaster Cid was married?"

The technicalities would wait, Nida would have to decide what was more important at the moment. And it was more important to get a hold of Squall before he died, and Rinoa would lead him to him. Seifer would be around merely as muscle if he got vicious.

Speaking of whom, he had gone up for a reason he couldn't really put his finger on. And for what? To tell Rinoa what an ass he was? Though, Bishop was making it hard for him.

"Get away from me! Down boy, down!"

"He's Moomba, not a dog!" Rinoa corrected.

"Then why is he growling like one?"

"Don't know. You'll have to ask him about that when he's finished growling at you."

Up the rope Nida climbed, hardly paying attention to Seifer's dilemma. As Selphie had said once before, the ship just 'took off', and all she did to get it going was move the steering column.

Up above in the wall, the catwalk shuddered as the Ragnarokk look alike began to move.

"Please don't tell me that's an emergency self destruct that was just activated." Irvine stuttered.

"No!" Shouted Selphie excitedly. "It's the Ragnarokk! It's moving."

Inside the cockpit, Rinoa tried her best to steady the ship, but it was nearly impossible to when she couldn't see clearly outside. She nearly missed her stop up, but was given a clue where she was by a chorus of shouts from outside.

"This would be my stop."

Bishop stopped growling at Seifer, and he couldn't be more relieved. The Moomba jumped onto the co-pilot's seat, but like Rinoa, he couldn't see anything either. Moving just a bit further, she nearly ran right into Quistis. Next test was to lower the gangplank. It was easy enough to find the button since it had a picture of a lowered lever on it.

Outside, they watched the gangplank lower with a giddy fascination; until it stalled a quarter of the way open.

"What are you doing?" Shouted Seifer. "We're on a tight schedual and you pick up hitch hickers!"

"I'm not going to the Lunatic Pandora alone!"

"Alone? What the hell am I? Used newspaper?"

"Oh, you've already shot your trust factor to hell!"

"Name one time I shot my trust factor!"

"You broke out of a foreign jail when your name could have been smoothed over!"

"What? Like I was goinna stay in jail! And it was the doctor Carrion that busted me out, blame him...!"

_Carrion._ Nida's attention was piqued with the mention of the shrink. He interrupted Seifer in the middle of his rant.

"You met Carrion?"

"I said his name was Carrion!" He snarled, not to happy with Nida's close proximity. "What's it to you?"

"Where did you last see him?"

"In some mall in the city before this damn ship took me for a ride on the end of a rope!"

_Korax is in the city?_ And last Nida saw him it was in Galbadia. What was he doing in Esthar? Unless...

"That bastard!" He shouted.

"Yeah," Seifer agreed. "He really was a bastard. Creepy bastard. No wonder Rat Boy doesn't want to see him..."

"He's knows that I was only safe keeping Leonhart! And he's acting like he's his responsibility!"

Rinoa turned around in her seat. "Are you saying you were the one who put him in a mental institute?"

"Well...yes_AAHK!_" Rinoa had her hands around his neck before he could finish.

"You son of a bitch! It was you! You put him in there...!" As she wrung his neck, Bishop started to growl at him. Seifer was really liking the turn of events.

"Watcha doing?" Someone else asked. Rinoa looked beside her, unintentionally dropping Nida.

"Selphie? I was afraid you wouldn't be able to get in."

"Oh, I had help. Irvine's height is handy, but I don't think he like me stepping on his head. Now, watcha doing?"

"This bastard put Squall in the institute!" She pointed angrily at Nida, whom had crumpled onto the floor in a daze.

"He did?" Selphie kicked him. "You bad, bad man. Shame on you for picking a place so far away."

Seifer still stood by, smiling at Nida's treatment. _Better him than me._


	21. Mind Tricks

**21**

Mind Tricks

Waiting on top of the unaffected top of the mall; Fujin, Raijin, and Dr. Raven stood by waiting for the true Ragnarok to pass. In his hand Raijin held a grappling hook; one he had tied himself.

The ship had been making frequent passes around the downtown area where the riots were at their hottest. With the power down, they were grateful for the waxing moon; even though it was oddly violet in colour.

"Fujin," Raijin asked, "why are we trying to hook the Ragnathingy again?"

She hadn't the foggiest, so she asked Raven. "RAGNAROK! WHY?!" She asked in Galbadian.

"Why not." Was his blunt answer.

Fujin turned back to her brother. "BECAUSE!" Was her translation.

He still didn't understand, but he went along with that answer anyway. As the ship came around, he tossed the hook, snagging it behind one of its thrusters. The Ragnarok pulled them off the building, but since they weren't hanging on by their feet, and the ship wasn't going that fast, it was easy to climb up.

"Now how do we get in, ya know?" Raijin began. "There's a door underneath, but I don't know how to open it, ya know."

"GANGPLANK!" Fujin corrected on 'door'. "ON SHIP, GANGPLANK!"

"Whoah, easy on the Estharian Fujin. It took me long enough to learn Alcauldian, ya know."

_I know. You__ﾒ__re still learning it._ Thought Fujin bitterly.

"You've been on this thing before." Raven interjected. "You should know how to get in around the gangplank."

"He knows Estharian too?!"

"MORON!" She would have kicked him; but her balance was more important. Not putting any faith in her brother, it was up to her to find that air lock. As she had guessed, it was at the back. It had a very easy opening mechanism; betrayed by a large button that might as well have the words 'press me' scrawled on them in her own language and screed. With gusto, Raijin jumped in; just as the ship listed, throwing her off balance. Nearly she did fall off but the ship righted itself before that could happen. It was no surprise that Dr. Raven didn't react to her distress at all.

_Steady there Fujin._ She reminded herself. _He probably didn__'__t see you. He does wear glasses after all._ Another question to ask him: why does he wear glasses? _Maybe he has glaucoma..._

An even better question for the moment was: did the pilot notice them?

It turned out the pilot didn't notice them, for as Raijin found out; there was no one at the helm.

"That is some awesome auto pilot on this thing, ya know." Raijin commented.

Fujin didn't agree. _More likely is this thing is on remote control. I wonder what that Karrion thinks about this?_

* * *

Even with the moon and being upside down Zell could tell they were heading towards the Lunatic Pandora; how could one miss it? The swarm of imps rose higher, and higher. They flew over the bowl of cracked monoliths that ringed the circumference of Tears Point. He never knew what the purpose of those monoliths were for, all he knew was that they were cubes that went from cold blue around the outside to a warm pink on the inside. He had no idea they could glow, but under the sky of night they were doing just that. And there in the very middle of the Point's plaza were encircled a ring of large statues, the likes of angels in the form of youthful girls in flowing robes and holding a lyre each. Each angel held the hand of the one beside her, but they were badly cracked, and one was missing a head. The setup eerily reminded him of those angels in that place under the Salt Lake, except those angels were facing in and standing up. And, of course, hovering above it was the imposing grand monolith of monoliths itself, and the imps were heading right for the top floor of it. Getting closer only augmented its sheer size.

Like they were being sucked inwards, the swarm veered into a maelstrom. Unceremoniously the queen threw Zell away; skidding to a halt on the very roof of the monstrosity. It was the first he had ever seen of the very top of the Lunatic Pandora. It wasn't as completely flat as what he first figured, but seemed to be set with various grooves; possibly wires or something; it was too dark for clarity. But the size of the roof; it must have been large, though the darkness made it hard to get a descent judgment of size.

The floor bellow his feet began to glow intensely, as did the centre of that whirling of imps. Afraid, Zell ran off the glow; and just in time, out of it shot a beam of brilliance that connected to the one by the imps. Then, just as the glow got intense enough that he had to avert his eyes, the pulse, and the imps, were scattered; seemingly jettisoned upwards like ash from a volcano.

_I wonder where those imps are going to now?_

"Whoah, dude..." _Now what?_ The imps had dragged him there, and now he was left to get back on his own? Most likely. But first was first, he should probably get down. But there seemed not to be anything at all in sight. "Dammit!" He shouted. He hit the floor with his fists, pouring all of his frustration into the punch. "DAMMIT!"

It was too bad he didn't take a look around. Zell wasn't the only one the imps dropped off there. Squall, still junctioned to Strychnine, heard his outburst very well.

_How did he get here?_ Squall thought. It was his knowledge that Siphon Thrice Fit only wanted to pick him up. What would she do if she found out who else was here? Continuously, Zell would rant and whine about his predicament, making it very easy for Squall to hear him, and find him.

Zell stopped his mindless cussing. It was time to stop beating himself up and do something. But making plans was never his strong suit. Perhaps if he jumped off the edge...

_I wonder how far off the ground I am?_

In the moonlight it was hard to make out, but he saw something else on the roof with him. It appeared to move slowly, but it also appeared to move towards him. The creature was tall; its legs looked thick at first, but as it came closer he could tell that the thing was wearing clothes. It had a long, thin snout, and carried two large blades. Zell got into his fighting pose; ready to duck it out with this unknown monster if need be.

_The imps must have dragged that thing here. I wonder where they got it?_

So quickly did the moon glow a strong green that it surprised Zell, and a flash of a face right in front of his was even more unsettling. It was a face that was too darkened, and shown too fast to identify, but he remembered the eerie glow from those empty white eyes. The image had startled him off his feet; he fell on his back, and he barely got up before the monster was on him.

The beast took hold of his arm with its skeletal foot, but the talons did not pierce skin.

* * *

"Well, I hope youﾒre happy Rinoa!" Seifer snarled. "We're at the Lunatic Pandora!"

"Yes, I am happy!" She quipped back, looking him straight in the eye.

Tired of their fighting Quistis stepped in. "No more fighting you two!" Turning away, she rubbed her temples. _Hyne, she yells as much at Seifer as she did at Squall._

Nida watched the exchange from a ways away, close behind him was his own entourage.

"Are we really going along with them?" Rick whined. "I mean that's two people you do not want to mess with: Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy..."

"...Which is exactly why we're behind him." Explained Nida, exasperated at his lack of foresight. "If Leonhart gets violent, he's the perfect buffer. Look, just stick to the plan..."

"Hey Fly Boy!" Seifer shouted. "Are you and your mime troupe coming or are you going to discuss the weather some more?"

Nida turned back to Rick. "Show time." Rick was going to ask what kind of 'show' it was, but Nida was already walking away.

"This place is huge!" He started. "Sure we should stick together? We'd actually have a better chance of finding both Squall and Zell by going off into groups."

"You know," Added Quistis, "that isn't a bad idea. The monsters in here are comparatively weak so we don't need strength of numbers."

Irvine wasn't so sure. "But we can't, like, just go off on our own. We're here to find two people, not fourteen..."

"I'm inclined to agree with Irvine." Rinoa seconded. "I've only been here once before and you seven are here for the first time. Seifer's the only one with any real directions."

With that praise, Seifer's face lit up.

"Donﾒt get cocky." She warned, or snarled, either/or.

"Hmm? Did you say something Rinoa?

"All right you nubes!" He shouted. "Seeing as how I'm the only one with any info on the where's and what way's of this place, I'mma goinna cut this peanut gallery up!"

"Seifer," Interrupted Quistis. "That isn't what Rinoa meant..."

"...Rinoa, her bitch, and Sindri will be with me. Kord, Quistis and Yuri will be second. Nida, Irvine, and Yagi will be third. Which leaves Brokk and Selphie; you can take the too moombas with you."

"MOOMBA!" She corrected vehemently.

Sindri looked at Yuri. "Like he said: show time."

Each of the groups split up. Rinoa, Sindri, and Seifer went up. The second team went down, the third went back, and the fourth made their way right.

Nida wasn't so sure if he liked how Seifer split them up. Sure, he wasn't too worried about Irvine; what could a sniper do at close range? But what about the others? He would have split them up to better compliment the new powers of his minions. In actuality, Seifer wasn't concerned about those powers. In fact, he wasn't concerned much at all. He chose Rinoa specifically, but not because she was a sorceress, but because she had a dog.

Before they had embarked, Nida had given his group a little something-something; Seifer included. Using his innate charm; which worked better than he had hoped, he led Rinoa away to some random location. It was by some ledge; the sides were uneven and jutting a bit but the bottom was many stories bellow them.

_Perfect!_ Seifer thought with sly glee.

"Well, will you look at that..." He began, looking down into the crystal cavern.

Rinoa looked down as well. "What is it?" The moment she turned her back to Sindri was the moment he struck her in the neck with some sort of two pronged contraption. The two levers bit into her skin, knocking her out with a sudden jolt to her brain. Sindri caught her before she could tumble over the edge.

Startled by the attack on her master, Angelo growled threateningly, lunging straight at Seifer. With Guardian Force granted strength, he batted the dog aside. He looked down into the chasm, but Angelo had already tumbled out of sight.

"Well," he began, "so much for the mutt."

"I think she was an Illigan Shepherd." Sindri corrected, pointing out her breed.

"So what, I use the term loosely. You got that tracker Nida gave you?" Sindri took the cell phone sized contraption out of his pocket. Seifer swiped before he could say 'yes'.

"Good. You carry Rinoa, I'll lead the way."

As he walked ahead, boasting about how well he pulled that charade off, Sindri tossed Rinoa over his shoulder. For a small woman, she was heavy! As he lifted the unconscious girl, he saw something dark and brown on the other side of the chasm. It was Angelo, also unconscious. Seifer had thrown her farther away then he had thought. Out of spite Sindri would not say anything to him.

* * *

Kord, Quistis and Yuri had taken the lower route.

_"__Over here...__"_ Came a sudden whisper. To Quistis; she couldn't quite pin point where it came. She spun around and there was that voice again.

_"__This way...__"_

_Which way?_

_"__Over here...__"_

She turned herself around again and came face to face with Kord. Before Quistis could say anything her head started to feel numb, her eyes came out of focus and before she knew it, she had passed out; hitting the crystal floor face first.

"You know," Yuri started to Kord. "I have that brain shocker thingy with me."

"You didn't have to do that little 'mind whisper' thing either." She snapped.

"Hey, I told you I'm bad with throwing my... 'mind whisper'. I wanted to distract her so she would turn her back to me..."

"Well nice job with that."

Yuri carried Quistis while Kord led the way back to Nida.

* * *

Irvine, Nida, and Yagi had backtracked from the group.

"...I really wish some monsters would show up right about now." Irvine whined. "I mean, I gotta get some practice with this Estharian tech here. I've gotta test out all these dia...hey, what's that over there?" He moved just as Nida was taking that pronged gadget to his neck.

Irvine was disappointed. "Just a rock. Thought it was a behemoth." He moved again before Nida could zap him.

"Hey Yagi, you got a watch. What time is it anyway?"

Yagi shook his head. "Can't help you there. This damn thing is well over an hour slow, I just wear it for looks."

"Well over an hour?...It's a digital watch, I bet I can fix that." He moved towards Yagi just as Nida was about to zap him again.

"Damn, the light here is weak." Irvine complained, taking the watch. "Light looks good over here." He moved again as Nida lunged for his neck.

"Now that's good light!" He worked the buttons until he got what he was looking for. "Looky there. Now if only I knew the actual time I could sync this baby." He walked over to give the watch back to Yagi; just as Nida dove for his neck yet again.

"You didn't fiddle around with the buttons I gather?" Irvine inquired of Yagi.

"No, button scare me."

"How, you afraid something could go boom or something like that?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You do know the odds of that happening don't you?"

"That happened to me a few times."

"And how often have you pressed buttons?"

"A few times."

"So you stay away from buttons?! Wha, do you have the same problem with switches?"

"No, switches are fine, but I'm not so crazy about cords."

"Then what about the remote. How do you solve thEHHH!" Nida had finally succeeded in zapping him. Irvine fell in a dead heap at his feet.

"Say Yagi." Began Nida as if nothing happened. "How do you solve the problem with the remote?"

* * *

Selphie and Brokk had gone to the right. Bishop and Deacon came up with them. They didn't notice but Brokk was sweating like a block of ice under the noonday sun. He knew what he had to do, but how to do it without gaining the attention of the Moomba? It was the little one that started up first; jumping and squeaking excitedly and getting the attention of the big guy. The big guy responded and went up to the little guy. The little guy did some more hopping and pointed away and growled. The two then plodded off for in a hurry for some reason.

"Hey wait, were are you going?" Shouted Selphie. She started to go after them and Brokk panicked. He hit her as hard as he could over the head was a large piece of crystal. Just as she fell to the ground unconscious did Brokk remember that alien do-hickey that Nida gave him. It was only fortunate that the Moomba were too far away to have noticed anything. Brokk only hoped he could carry that dead weight.

Bishop had thought he had heard something. It had been Selphie, but her calls stopped. He didn't think much of it; she was still with that other human after all. He fallowed Deacon and hoped she would be all right. Deacon had brought them to a massive opening in the crystal. A monsterous hole was in the middle of it and above it was a high chimney. Stretching upwards was darkness, and bellow was the same darkness; neither top nor bottom was to be seen of that shaft.

Though a striking image in itself, it was hardly enough to compare to a lone statue of a Moomba. It was expertly carved and in a dramatic pose; a pose like that of defense. But as Bishop cast a scan to know the material of the work, he found that it was not originally stone. It was an actual Moomba! Come to think of it, the sculpture did share a distinction with Cardinal, and she was still alive inside that crunchy coating.

Impatiently Deacon hopped up and down: squabbling and waving his arms around like a young Shumi. Trying not to get distracted by him, Bishop threw an esuna spell on the unfortunate Shemoomba. Swiftly the spell washed over her, the stone membrane evaporating with the sound of sizzling butter. Even the effects would tickle on the skin. With the membrane softened and gone Cardinal fell over on her back. She coughed a few times desperately to get air in her free lungs. She was still shaky and her fur was matted with sweat and the leftover residue of the petrify.

With the moment of joy passed, Cardinal remembered her last moment before the petrify. She recalled getting into the Lunatic Pandora with Squall. She recalled his little talk with the pillar. And she remembered the toromae.

Immediately she made a bunch of distressed growls. Bishop, though glad to see she was okay from an unknown amount of time on petrify, was concerned. He twittered a string of calming chirps, but Cardinal kept on growling, she even roared. Bishop kept on with his chirps. Deacon, curious of Cardinal's attitude, did turn around, and was terrified at what he saw. He got Bishop's attention by pulling on his arm. At first, he would have none of it, but he had tugged pretty hard. And there, circling them like prowling cats were seven toromae.


End file.
